Retiree Norma Rodriguez Recognized
The Cerritos College Board of Trustees recognized retiree Norma Rodriguez, director
of Student Program Services, for her many years of service to the College on August
17.
Norma Rodriguez began her employment at Cerritos College as an Intermediate Account Clerk III on October 3, 1982. She also held roles as an Account Clerk IV and a Financial Aid Student Affairs Assistant. In 2005 she was hired as a part time counselor at the College, which also led to roles as the Coordinator of CalWORKs services in 2006, the Director of CalWORKs Services, and eventually the Director of Student Program Services in 2012, where she oversaw both CalWORKs and the Office of International Student Services.
Throughout her time at Cerritos College Norma was a tireless advocate for students and student equity. She served many initiatives on campus, such as the Food and Housing Insecurity Taskforce and UndocuAlly Taskforce, and was an active member of the Diversity & Equal Employment Opportunity Advisory Committee.
Recently the CalWORKS department completed a program review process, and in the closing meeting one of the review members, who is a current full-time employee at the College, shared that they were a former CalWORKs student and that while in the program their child was very young, and that her daughter had recently graduated from Cerritos and transferred to UCLA. The staff member became tearful when sharing how her personal experience in CalWORKs shaped her life and contributed to helping her meet her goals and serve as a role model for her daughter, and that Norma was a large part of her success.
This was incredible evidence of the program’s impact on students, but also the care, compassion, and advocacy Norma provided for our parenting students. This same passion was provided to all students Norma worked with, in CalWORKs, Office of International Student Services, or one of the many student equity initiatives she championed.
Thank you, Norma, for your contributions to students and our community. We all wish you all the best for a healthy and happy retirement.
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