FIYou: Desiree Rodriguez ’04, MS ’06


fiyou-desiree-rodriguez

Name: Desiree “Desi” Rodriguez ’04, MS ’06

Hometown: Miami, Fla.

Job Title/Department: Chief of Staff, External Relations

Campus: University Park

In a nutshell: My job is to facilitate everyone else’s job. I execute directives on behalf of the senior vice president and provide support to all of her direct reports (and anyone else who comes along looking for assistance). As long as everything keeps moving forward, I’m doing my job.

Number of years at FIU: Almost eight. I started as a student in 2001, studying full time and working part time in the office of the president. I became a full-time employee and graduated with a bachelor’s in mathematics in 2004. I then completed a master’s of finance in 2006. I guess you can say I just couldn’t get away.

What do you enjoy most about your job?

Every day I have the opportunity to make a difference in someone’s life, whether by helping to remove an obstacle to get something accomplished or by appeasing a student’s worries of not being able to navigate through registering for a class.

What do you think faculty/staff and students should know about your department?

External Relations is a great resource! Everything from communications to news, special events and expanding FIU’s online presence can be enhanced at every level throughout the university and all its units through our team.

Where is your favorite spot on campus? Why?

I think the memorials we have on campus are a testament to the family that has been growing at FIU over the years. Personally, I truly appreciate the two benches in remembrance of Janelle Bertot and Tony Perez. A sister of Phi Sigma Sigma and a brother of Pi Kappa Phi, Janelle and Tony passed in 2004 from carbon monoxide poisoning leaking in a vehicle. In the midst of the madness of everything going on throughout the campus every day, this memorial is a place of quiet. It is a reminder that there is more to life than passing an exam or meeting a deadline.

If there is one thing you wish everyone knew about FIU, what would it be?

FIU is the best kept secret in South Florida! By now, most have heard of FIU, but only those who live and breathe it every day know how truly spectacular it is. All you have to do is scan the rest of this news site to find out the multitude ways I could answer this question. Even then, you would not fathom the wealth of knowledge spread across our multiple campuses that truly impacts our community in a positive way.

Family snapshot:

I am Cuban-American with Spanish ancestry. My mother came to the United States alone at the age of 6 and my father traveled with the Peter Pan program through Spain as a teenager. They have taught me the value of hard work through their experiences of making it in a foreign land (they both completed their degrees in the States). I am blessed to have found my husband, Javi (we’ve been together 10 years now), and we couldn’t be more thankful for our daughter, Leah, who’s 20 months old. And we have two miniature schnauzers, Mimi and Ali, who terrorize our home daily.

Word that best describes you: Resourceful. You have to be to make it at FIU. And positive. I can’t help but find the good in almost everything.

First paying job: Working at a coffee shop – Café Demetrio in Coral Gables.  Coffee and great pastries…it was a great job.

Favorite TV show: “Everybody Loves Raymond.”

Your proudest accomplishment:

Becoming a mother – it’s true…the toughest things in life are truly the most rewarding.

What do you do when you are not working at FIU?

I love spending time with my family. From coloring with the baby to watching movies with my husband, quality time comes first. As an extension to my life at FIU, I serve as the recruitment advisor to the Phi Sigma Sigma sorority on campus and that always keeps things interesting. I also enjoy playing the piano, reading, fishing/boating or anything on the water (I know, you’d never know it from my complexion) and maintaining my relationship with the big man. I wouldn’t be who I am without my faith.