Jesus Rodriguez joins the MATC faculty
A different back to school
A different back to school
It didn’t take long for opportunity to come knocking and Rodriguez landed a job at American Family. And after he finished his associate degree, an
increase in responsibility at American Family wasn’t far behind. “I showed my boss my last class networking project and he decided that I was capable of taking
care of all of the networking stuff in my area,” Rodriguez said. “I learned that here and it helped me understand such a big network and American Family has
such a gigantic network. I also did a lot of network printer configurations. All of that knowledge I received from MATC helped out quite a bit. It helped me
understand what I was seeing. I became more than just an electronics mechanic. I knew exactly what was happening. It helped me to become more efficient
and do my job.”
It was important for Rodriguez to give back to the community and to help the next generation coming after him develop the skill levels he was fortunate to
attain. He gave a presentation in Spanish on being a computer technician at a MATC-sponsored workshop for Latino students. He enjoyed the experience and
gave a similar presentation at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and taught a workshop on computers at MATC’s South Madison campus.
And then opportunity came knocking once again for Rodriguez. He received an e-mail from a MATC instructor asking him if he would like to teach a computer
class called Computer Hardware Essentials. He would first teach the class in English in the fall while he takes classes to be certified by MATC and then repeat
the class in Spanish for the spring semester.
Rodriguez is pretty excited about the opportunity because he will be able to transfer the skills he has learned at MATC and American Family to a new
generation of technicians. “When you get certified, you go through newer materials and technologies,” Rodriguez said. “Everything is changing all the time.
The thing that I learned real early is that everyone has a book. I mean Toshiba, Cisco and IBM. This course I am going to teach is theoretical and practical.
You learn everything the computer has inside and how it works and how to install it. You get a lot of hands-on instruction. You get to dismantle a computer and
then put it back together. You have to teach what Cisco says is correct if you want the students to be certified by Cisco.”
Rodriguez went to Spain last October on vacation and already the possibilities started to intrigue him. “I saw the newspapers asking for instructors to teach
in English because they have a big community from England,” Rodriguez observed. “They call Spain the Mater Patria, which is the guardian of the language.
They really push for the Spanish. I could understand that. In the back of my mind, I think I might go there with my wife and teach. I might look into some
adventures in that direction. Since I speak English and Spanish, I can get work. If everything goes fine here at MATC like I expect, it would be a very positive
thing. I could take off and teach in Spain for the summer and come back. I could teach technology or the language.”
The world of technology has opened up the world to Rodriguez and the possibilities of life. “When I did a presentation a few weeks ago, I told the group
when I was pointing to the computer ‘Look this is one dimension,’” Rodriguez said. “’Once you look inside, you’re going to see how it takes off in many
directions.’ Once you are in technology, you take the direction of networks and network security, programming, administration, computer repair, you name it.
There are many avenues once you know technology because you can turn in any direction.”
And it has turned Rodriguez back in the direction of MATC.
increase in responsibility at American Family wasn’t far behind. “I showed my boss my last class networking project and he decided that I was capable of taking
care of all of the networking stuff in my area,” Rodriguez said. “I learned that here and it helped me understand such a big network and American Family has
such a gigantic network. I also did a lot of network printer configurations. All of that knowledge I received from MATC helped out quite a bit. It helped me
understand what I was seeing. I became more than just an electronics mechanic. I knew exactly what was happening. It helped me to become more efficient
and do my job.”
It was important for Rodriguez to give back to the community and to help the next generation coming after him develop the skill levels he was fortunate to
attain. He gave a presentation in Spanish on being a computer technician at a MATC-sponsored workshop for Latino students. He enjoyed the experience and
gave a similar presentation at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and taught a workshop on computers at MATC’s South Madison campus.
And then opportunity came knocking once again for Rodriguez. He received an e-mail from a MATC instructor asking him if he would like to teach a computer
class called Computer Hardware Essentials. He would first teach the class in English in the fall while he takes classes to be certified by MATC and then repeat
the class in Spanish for the spring semester.
Rodriguez is pretty excited about the opportunity because he will be able to transfer the skills he has learned at MATC and American Family to a new
generation of technicians. “When you get certified, you go through newer materials and technologies,” Rodriguez said. “Everything is changing all the time.
The thing that I learned real early is that everyone has a book. I mean Toshiba, Cisco and IBM. This course I am going to teach is theoretical and practical.
You learn everything the computer has inside and how it works and how to install it. You get a lot of hands-on instruction. You get to dismantle a computer and
then put it back together. You have to teach what Cisco says is correct if you want the students to be certified by Cisco.”
Rodriguez went to Spain last October on vacation and already the possibilities started to intrigue him. “I saw the newspapers asking for instructors to teach
in English because they have a big community from England,” Rodriguez observed. “They call Spain the Mater Patria, which is the guardian of the language.
They really push for the Spanish. I could understand that. In the back of my mind, I think I might go there with my wife and teach. I might look into some
adventures in that direction. Since I speak English and Spanish, I can get work. If everything goes fine here at MATC like I expect, it would be a very positive
thing. I could take off and teach in Spain for the summer and come back. I could teach technology or the language.”
The world of technology has opened up the world to Rodriguez and the possibilities of life. “When I did a presentation a few weeks ago, I told the group
when I was pointing to the computer ‘Look this is one dimension,’” Rodriguez said. “’Once you look inside, you’re going to see how it takes off in many
directions.’ Once you are in technology, you take the direction of networks and network security, programming, administration, computer repair, you name it.
There are many avenues once you know technology because you can turn in any direction.”
And it has turned Rodriguez back in the direction of MATC.
By Jonathan Gramling
Jesus Rodriguez is used to making transitions in his life. In his native Puerto Rico, Rodriguez
learned electronics at the Metropolitan Institute of Science and Technology in San Juan and then
worked as an electronics technician and was a member of the National Guard. Life was good.
But his family members immigrated to the United States to attend universities and later settled in the
Midwest. Rodriguez and his daughter eventually followed.
While Rodriguez initially moved to Iowa where his brothers were, he eventually settled in Madison
where his sister enrolled at the UW-Madison School of Medicine after graduating from Harvard
University. Madison’s lakes reminded Rodriguez somewhat of Puerto Rico. But more importantly, it was
the possible careers in technology that sealed the deal for Rodriguez.
After landing a job at Nicolet Instruments, Rodriguez enrolled at MATC in the computer
networking program. “I decided not to go back to the pure electronics because these days people buy
their electronics and then throw them away and buy a new one when it no longer works,” Rodriguez said
as we sat in front of MATC’s Truax campus. “It’s not like the old days where they would repair so much
stuff. Right now, they don’t do much of that because it is way too costly. It is cheaper to just throw away
and for $50, you can get a new one. So I decided to study something that was more marketable. So I
decided to study computer networking.”
Jesus Rodriguez is used to making transitions in his life. In his native Puerto Rico, Rodriguez
learned electronics at the Metropolitan Institute of Science and Technology in San Juan and then
worked as an electronics technician and was a member of the National Guard. Life was good.
But his family members immigrated to the United States to attend universities and later settled in the
Midwest. Rodriguez and his daughter eventually followed.
While Rodriguez initially moved to Iowa where his brothers were, he eventually settled in Madison
where his sister enrolled at the UW-Madison School of Medicine after graduating from Harvard
University. Madison’s lakes reminded Rodriguez somewhat of Puerto Rico. But more importantly, it was
the possible careers in technology that sealed the deal for Rodriguez.
After landing a job at Nicolet Instruments, Rodriguez enrolled at MATC in the computer
networking program. “I decided not to go back to the pure electronics because these days people buy
their electronics and then throw them away and buy a new one when it no longer works,” Rodriguez said
as we sat in front of MATC’s Truax campus. “It’s not like the old days where they would repair so much
stuff. Right now, they don’t do much of that because it is way too costly. It is cheaper to just throw away
and for $50, you can get a new one. So I decided to study something that was more marketable. So I
decided to study computer networking.”
| Jesus Rodriguez is returning to Madison Area Technical College as an instructor this fall.Jesus Rodriguez is returning to Madison Area Technical College as an instructor this fall. |