Belem De La Cruz Rodriguez graduated with her bachelors in business. She was born in Mexico but was raised in Moultrie, Georgia. Rodriguez graduated Fall 2020.
Rodriguez was inspired to major in business by the computer classes that she took in grade school, as well as the FBLA club at her school. Her hobbies consist of reading and spending time with her two children.
After graduation, she plans to take two years off to focus on spending as much time as she can with her children then she plans on attending Valdosta State University. After attending VSU, she plans to go into the financial field and “put everything that she’s grasped from ABAC into the industry.”
One thing that Belem struggled with the most fall semester was online learning. She states that because she is a traditional student, she is accustomed to having a physical book and being able to talk to her professor face-to-face.
Rodriguez’s greatest accomplishment is being the first to have a college degree in her family. She goes on to say that despite things that happened in the past that caused her to be unable to further her education, she was still able to reach her goals.
One person that inspired Rodriguez was her middle school teacher, Mrs. Clovis King. She states that Mrs. King would always reach out and encourage her to be the best that she could be. She goes on to say that Mrs. King always told her “don’t ever feel like you don’t belong where you are at even though you may be the only one, because you have the same potential.”
Another person that inspired Rodriguez is the Dean of the Business School, Dr. Renata Elad. She admires her for her perseverance and ability to continue moving forward despite life’s challenges, as well as her leadership skills.
Two philosophies that Rodriguez follows are “life is about solving problems and every obstacle in the way moves you forward” and “commitment, resilience, and perseverance will take you far.”
She states that these philosophies have kept her going and pushed her to challenge herself through her 33 years of life.
