Celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month! JA Volunteer Spotlight - Eduardo Rodriguez

Author: Becky Neely
Community Involvement
Published: Monday, 11 Oct 2021

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Image caption: Eduardo Rodriguez, Assistant Vice President at Woodforest Bank in Magnolia, Texas.

Eduardo Rodriguez, Assistant Vice President at Woodforest Bank in Magnolia, Texas, was born in Torreon, Coahuila, Mexico, and immigrated to the United States in 1995. He has been married to his beautiful wife for 25 years and has two children and a family dog.

Before coming to the United States, he studied International Business Administration at Universidad Autonoma de Coahuila in Torreon, Mexico and worked as an Assistant Branch Manager at a bank as well as a Sports Program Director at the YMCA. It was through the YMCA that he received an offer to come to the U.S. for a summer. That summer has turned into 26 years and counting living in the United States.

Eduardo's first volunteering experience was in 1990 at the YMCA in Mexico City, helping to develop programs for low-income communities at the Lost City just outside of Greater Mexico City. For Eduardo, “his passion for volunteering comes from being able to help others who are less fortunate and helping to make a difference in someone's life”.

Eduardo first learned about Junior Achievement in 2007 and has been a dedicated and enthusiastic JA volunteer for 14 years. In self-reflection, he shared that being a Junior Achievement volunteer "allows him to use his background as an example of opportunities for students and can support/encourage students to see that anything is possible with determination, dedication, and hard work. It doesn't matter the kind of ethnic or language background a person comes from. As long as they are willing to put forth the effort to make a difference”.

Eduardo works to share with others the critical part a volunteer plays in the success of JA programs and their impact on our youth in helping them to reach their dreams. Being able to be a positive influence is what drives Eduardo to continue to volunteer.

Junior Achievement volunteers bring programs to life by sharing real-life experiences, and we could not accomplish the JA mission without people like Eduardo Rodriguez, who help teach lessons that will last a lifetime. Thank you, Eduardo, for your dedication to Junior Achievement and the students' lives you have touched through volunteering and encouraging others to do the same. Together we are inspiring tomorrow for many young students!