Joseph Rodriguez

Alma Urbano: I'll be working on this for most of the fall semester too probably.

Joseph Rodriguez: Your deadline is?

Alma Urbano: Well we're trying to have something ready for the 30-for uh September 16th.

Joseph Rodriguez: Is that the 30th anniversary of [Inaudible]?

Alma Urbano: Yeah it'll be

Joseph Rodriguez: Or no?

Alma Urbano: Yeah.

Joseph Rodriguez: Ok this is good. You're on a schedule. I've probably stolen 8 minutes, so I'll listen now.

Alma Urbano: No, it's fine as long as you're available. So just for the record my name is Alma Urbano again. The day is July 29th 2016 and this is a phone interview with professor Joseph Rodriguez. It's around 11:40 a.m. Eastern time 00:01:00in Gambier. So just to begin as you know the goal of this project is to collect or capture some of the stories of the Latino community at Kenyon college. So I would just like to hear a little bit about your background before coming to Kenyon college, or a little bit about your community that you belonged to before coming to Kenyon or your family?

Joseph Rodriguez: Yes well good morning! Thank you so much for contacting me Alma, I think that the work that you're doing is really significant and is quite motivating to hear about your commitment. I grew up in Houston Texas. I'm of Mexican origin. My mother was a former puppet school teacher in a northern state of Mexico and my father, he grew up in a rural community not too far from Austin Texas and his background is mostly in refinery work as a pipefitter. And he 00:02:00retired from refinery work. But I grew up in Huston in a predominantly Mexican origin community called the east end or Mongolia park. I'm a graduate of public schools and bilingual education and magnet college preparation programs in Houston ISD. I grew up in a bilingual bicultural home and most of my interests in literacy and books really began in my home and public libraries. I'm the youngest in a family of four, I have three other siblings. Most of my studies were in public education in Houston. And my first time leaving home essentially was to go to college. I would be one of the first in my family to go to college. 00:03:00My eldest sister is a college graduate but she studied in the US. She and I are the degreed professionals from our home.

Alma Urbano: How did you hear about Kenyon college?

Joseph Rodriguez: Well my knowledge of Kenyon college began kind of three fold. First as a reader, second it was really based on being a young writer, and third would be as an undergraduate student. The first would be as a reader and that would be from reading some of the classical works that are associated with Kenyon college. Including the writers. On my own when I was in highschool I read 00:04:00some of the work that was in my highschool literacy books. And it had writings by like Yadora Welch, John Crowe Ransom, and Robert Penn Warren. And we didn't read these three writers' works. I read them on my own. I was interested in their stories, their poems, and I read them on my own and I remember the biography had mentioned Kenyon college. And that kind of drew me in that they were associated with the college, this small town named Gambier, and so my knowledge began that way and I heard about a group of writers that called themselves the fugitives and it included this theorist named Clarence brooks and slowly I developed this interest to find out "well what is this place and why are they all connected to this college?" The second one would be as a young writer in my teen years I found out about writing institutes that have occurred 00:05:00across the country through the bard college system. My senior year of highschool I saw a flyer for a young writers program and i remember being really attracted to it because most of my studies in public education involved testing, taking a test and getting a grade or a score and there really wasn't a lot of time for creative writing, imaginative writing, or even discussions about books we read on our own that we liked. It was strictly persuasive writing and wrote learning or writing to get into college. So I was really excited to read that there were these institutes for young writers and my counselor encouraged me to apply and I 00:06:00did and the summer after graduating High School I was accepted into the Kenyon young writers institute, I think it has a different name now. And I participated in the summer of 93 before starting my undergraduate studies at a small catholic college in San Antonio named Our Lady of the Lake university but being in the Kenyon writers workshop, I think that was the name it has now, was very helpful. I met many other young writers far along in their writing experience and the director of the program a professor of English named Gabriel Lacarte at the end of the institute said Joseph you should really think about transferring here. And that kind of started some gears moving and later my first year at Our Lady of the Lake my English professor said joseph you should really take up the ideas 00:07:00by professor Lacarte and consider transferring. So that's my early story. Reader, young writer, and then as a student officially, as a transfer student. I began in the fall of 94 and I graduated in the fall of 97 three years later.

Alma Urbano: What was your first impression when you first impression upon finally studying at Kenyon College?

Joseph Rodriguez: I'm sorry what was that?

Alma Urbano: What was your first impression when you first started Kenyon College as an undergraduate student?

Joseph Rodriguez: Well my first impression was that it seemed to be quite eugenic. Resembling uh, kind of like a garden of knowledge, of privilege, of academic comfort, of academic privilege. I say all of these favorably, 00:08:00positively, but I think underneath all of these impressions I had when I started the institute and then officially as a sophomore when I transferred in 94, under that there were layers of personalities, of friendships, of differences, of similarities, and also I think intellectual curiosity really drew me in. So I describe these as layers, they were just parts of coming of age, growing up. I was 19 years old, 20, early 20s while I was there. So a lot was happening in my own personal development, my academic development. Trying to think of where professionalism lies. But initially it was quite eugenic. Very positive, very 00:09:00well manicured, inviting place, ah green lush. And I still remember that snakey ride up the hill as a sophomore. Thinking "I can take all of the classes that I want, and I still needed to discover my major, my minor, my concentration." but it was a lot of excitement and drive, but also some anxiety, some fear, being far from home. But wanting to belong essentially to a new place that I'm going to call home.

Alma Urbano: Is there something you initially missed about home when you first got here?

Joseph Rodriguez: I'm sorry are you asking if there was something I missed?

Alma Urbano: Yeah

Joseph Rodriguez: I think the first thing I, Well I certainly missed some of the food I enjoyed living in Texas as a person of Mexican origin. Certainly adapting 00:10:00too-I came from a bilingual home, so I sought out international students. I became friends with other students from Bolivia, Costa Rica, Mexico, developed relationships with more international students, some US born students of Latino origin and also white American students. But I found some Latino communities in Ohio. there was a very friendly couple who befriended me. I lived in mount Vernon so I would see them about once a month. We would get together and share a meal, laughter and share some bilingual stories of our life. So those are some 00:11:00parts of some things that I missed, adjusted too, but then I sought out community friends that I think helped me keep going and cope and realized maybe I'd say my fitting into a part of another world.

Alma Urbano: Yeah, is there another, You mention international students would you say part of your family away from family or your other friendships on campus, is there anything else that you think helped you create a new community?

Joseph Rodriguez: Yes well I was very active with a lot of the programming that occurred on campus ranging from writers to, it was part of a committee that sought nominations for speakers, presenters, and I was able to join that 00:12:00committee. I was able to also work with the office of multicultural affairs who were able to bring writers of American literature such as Pat Morna, Judith Osis-Cofer, Maya Angelou, and a few others. So I became involved in programming. So I learned about parts of administration, parts of leadership, and ways of interacting with other professionals whose main priority is to write, to think and to uh, or who hold positions of professors so that was helpful. I also joined an academic fraternity then Phi Kappa Sigma. I was a member of the Choral group here on campus. I attended Catholic mass, and I also opened my mind to 00:13:00other religions and philosophies while I was there, and I was able to minor in religion and a few friends had invited me to Methodist services so I began attending those as well so there were many firsts of me coming of age at Kenyon college.

Alma Urbano: Were there any professors or other mentors that you had on campus?

Joseph Rodriguez: Yes, I initially was interested in considering a major in English and at the same time I've always been drawn to the literature from Latin America and also the indigenous community and I took a few Spanish courses and I was really connected to the vision that my professors had of the hemispheric 00:14:00Americas and their drive for poetry, for feminism, for human rights. So I chose Spanish area studies and modern language and literature as my major and I pursued a concentration of American studies so essentially I felt as I were to make my own major although it was an official major but I was able to make it more interdisciplinary and make it more global and interconnected across disciplines and concepts. Many professors stand out but I'm always grateful to professors Gladijo Manaudio, Charles Piano, and Royal Rose. They stand out as being very present helpful, professor Dean Audine. Several others who I would like to name and remember who were very helpful and really understood what it's 00:15:00like leaving home but also young people trying to make a way far from home but also growing as individuals as members of a community so that was really strong to have the presences understanding and the literature that they recommended or signed it always had questions and unanswered but good questions to carry and to do good in the world.

Alma Urbano: Do you ever feel, is there any events on campus that stand out? Four years or oh three years that you were here. Anything that stands out as being very meaningful to you?

Joseph Rodriguez: I'm sorry being very?

Alma Urbano: Any events that you remember being very meaningful to you? That you 00:16:00still remember?

Joseph Rodriguez: Ok well I always enjoyed long walks along the old path with my friends on my own. It was a significant time to spend alone, maybe some loneliness but also in community with many others. I felt that I had a good place to get some good footing as a beginning scholar. At the same time I think that other parts that stand out or events that were led by the Latin organization by the members of the African American community on campus. There were many literary events, programs on campus and also the arts were promoted in 00:17:00very many ways, From performing to visual. Those were very important to me. I also got to visit some of the archives of Kenyon college and connected with some of the original American literary tradition works that are still housed there. I remember reading about a graduate of Kenyon college. His name is Charles Seltzer, actually he didn't graduate but he had studied there. I was always drawn to his story because he was a white American man but he chose a pseudonym of Ahmadu Meurdo and he wrote stories about Mexicanos and Mexican Americans in the El Paso area and I remember going to the archives and meeting the archivist Jaime Peele and I was able to see a lot about Charles Seltzers background, what he was like, what he liked to study, what he had written while he was a student 00:18:00there because I always had these doubts and these questions there like "Why would he change his name?" but yet he wrote these humanizing stories about the people of this region now in El Paso. So I've read a lot about him and now that I'm in El Paso I've come to understand more of his stories, who he was and why he wrote about the people from El Paso Arizona, Why he rode trains, met people, and took the name, parts of the name of his wife to honor her and the people he was meeting in the south west. So Jaime Peele she was very helpful in welcoming me to the archives and finding a lot of these unknown works or original works. I think another meaningful event would be some of the events that took place in 00:19:00April and may of 1997 and that called for the Kenyon Administration and president Robert O'dean to recognize the need of more human diversity at Kenyon and funding programs that would lead to more opportunities to students of color, professors of color, and administrators of color on campus and to have a pathway for them to be present and to succeed at Kenyon over time and over their careers. It was that mark in time in 97 that the administration introduced the following three years and five year specific programs that exist today that 00:20:00house writers and residents more opportunities to begin tenure track and more active recruitment in areas where students of color are overlooked and not sought out to be part of the student body. That was a change, a significant change and there was an open forum held in front of lots hall, with a microphone to list our interests, our demands, our concerns, our needs, our wants, and the president was there taking notes.

Alma Urbano: Do you, have you noticed changes? I don't know if you've been to the college or heard? Do you think changes have happened in terms of then and now in terms of administration?

Joseph Rodriguez: I have seen, as an alumnus, I have read about the progress. I 00:21:00have seen a lot of change in direction, ideas and concepts, and recruitment. I remain active. I've visited the campus a few times and I keep in touch with alumni. I've also helped with admissions as a volunteer living in Texas. I think the vision, the intention, and the goals that the Kenyon college administration has are good and they favor a more representative body that looks like the US and its progressive. That's really significant for Humanism and liberal arts. So I'm a big proponent of that and I believe Kenyon has positioned itself in a 00:22:00stronger way in that direction and I think students are one of the greatest voices on any campus for change that keeps change going. I've seen that in the student body from other languages to additional organizations that collaborate and work together for change.

Alma Urbano: You mentioned some of the classes you took or some of the programs you took at Kenyon college. Were there any classes in particular that really shaped the rest of your career at Kenyon or that made an impact on you?

Joseph Rodriguez: Yes I took a creative writing course from the department of English and that was quite helpful in looking at other creative writers and I 00:23:00also am a reader of the Kenyon review. I've seen a lot change in their publication choices and it's certainly much more representative of a greater America that has more diverse voices and that's what American literature is is many voices and not exclusive ones only. I remember two courses I took in the department of religion. One was reading the book of Job that was a great class that really helped me find the presence of Job as a biblical character and many of the literary works that we had chosen and played that we studied. I remember a course named Jews in literature. That was really helpful to see the representation of characters of Jewish descent and how that translated to other 00:24:00heritages, other races, ethnicities, how they're viewed in literature. Those two classes stand out, as well as most of the classes I took in the Spanish department. I really liked how inter-disciplinary they were and brought me many questions about growing up, coming of age and what literature can do in a society. That's quite significant.

Alma Urbano: If you could go back in time and change something about your Kenyon experience what would you change? Or if you would change anything?

Joseph Rodriguez: Well if I could change anything I think I would want my undergraduate experience to be maybe five or six years at Kenyon. I think ah one 00:25:00that would be maybe too much fun it would be too expensive, two too expensive, and three I'd get kicked out like "grow up, move on! A life awaits you! You must become a giving alumnus a few years from now."

Alma Urbano: Is there something you wished you had known after graduating from Kenyon College?

Joseph Rodriguez: I think I would have wanted to know that the Kenyon college community is very interconnected. I was told there would be many opportunities while being at Kenyon and post Kenyon. Me and my stories, my way of thinking, 00:26:00was really launched through my experiences at Kenyon and now that I'm a professor at a state university and the university of Texas system and I've worked in public schools from head start to high schools to universities and community college I've realized that something I still carry with me is the sense of owning my thinking, of free will and becoming a free thinker and I impart this with my students in classes ranging from ten students to forty, to more. I find ways to involve them in a seminar style, Socratic method, interactive thinking, problem solving, project based that I gained at Kenyon. I make every effort to help my students gain more liberal arts approaches to 00:27:00thinking, more humanism. So that they realize their role in the world and how they can influence many communities to do good and help others and that really began at Kenyon in many ways. The professors I had, the readings I had, the experiences, and a lot of the fun, the recreation, the outdoor activities I did. And also the snow stands out. There was a lot of snow while I was there.

Alma Urbano: One of the current students, I interviewed one student, I could interview a few more, but I asked him what he would want to ask alumni or other people from the community at Kenyon college and he asked something related to "Do you think that the causes you care about while at Kenyon college are still 00:28:00possible to care about once you graduate?" You mentioned a lot of things that go back to your education at Kenyon college so if you could just expand on that? How to continue caring about some of the issues or some of the topics that you care about while you're at Kenyon college after you graduate?

Joseph Rodriguez: Yes well I think the questions of, the question about, and the need for more equality, and equity, and access are still with us. And Kenyon college prepares students to really be the vessel of change and hope and to know when to roll up their sleeves, when to sit at the table, when to ask more 00:29:00questions, when to put pen to paper, or to use all of the devices that we have today to ask questions, to create change, when to be that change, and to imagine it. That is still alive and it's a lot of the thinking and approaches that I gained at Kenyon and I hear this as well from many of my friends and acquaintances at Kenyon. I think that lives on that we must leave the world better then how we found it and in many ways we are paying it forward and making sure that more voices are heard and are present at the table, where decisions are made, where decisions are influenced, and that means that we're present. And that is something that I like. I think that has carried me forward is; I gained 00:30:00a lot of ways of being present. The presence of my professors and my colleagues and friends to do good and to leave the world better.

Alma Urbano: Is there any, do you have any message or tips you could say to current students at Kenyon? Especially students of color or of Latino descent?

Joseph Rodriguez: Well I think any student can struggle regardless of his or her background, without, or with questions and mine, sometimes would appear with questions about affirmative action and something I always told myself was in the journey I earned it and I am rightly here. When I was in graduate school at the 00:31:00university of Connecticut one of my professors Signitif Royal pulled me aside and said "Joseph, bloom where you are planted." And those simple words were significant for me. I think I needed to hear that it is very important that I grow where I am planted where I find myself and yes there are challenges and it is a difficult journey but we share it with others and there is time for aloneness there is time for loneliness and its part of the journey and growth and the way forward is to keep going and i think that made me stronger in many ways and I would hope that students are able to have more sense of community and find ways to define themselves uniquely that will help them grow, cope, and thrive, and survive.

Alma Urbano: Yeah do you ever feel alone or like you stood out while at Kenyon college?

Joseph Rodriguez: I think that part of being in a community involves finding one way, making a path, and I remember, My friends who stood out and when I first met them there was something that stood out about them that they had a good feeling. I could understand who they were, who they wanted to become and that was helpful to know and for people to connect with other similar thinking minds. 00:33:00And also persons who challenged me who thought differently from me as quite the complete opposite and I learned more from them but overall I think the significant journey and we must be part of it and others and not be in isolation.

Alma Urbano: Would you like to say something else about your experience at Kenyon here?

Joseph Rodriguez: I think the liberal arts education that I gained, my thoughts on humanism, my progressive thinking, and community building is built just as relevant and just as significant in my life and the lives of the students and 00:34:00professors and administration at Kenyon college I see it in our alumni public trends, in the news, and I see it in current students in their drive, their mission, their sense of purpose and it's a great place to be.

Alma Urbano: Ok well thank you so much.

Joseph Rodriguez: Oh you're welcome! Are you going to stop the tape now?