Maria Rodriguez (ENG’21): Engineering a bright future
Who is Maria?
Maria Alexandra Parada Rodriguez (ENG’21) moved from Venezuela to Sarasota, Florida, when she was four years old. Her childhood wasn’t easy. Her parents lost their home and struggled with unemployment. As for many other immigrants, attending a university wasn’t even a consideration. But Maria worked hard and rose to the top. She received the Bright Futures Award, a prestigious scholarship that covers tuition to Florida colleges and universities. Maria wanted to attend a top engineering school, however, and that’s what led her to Massachusetts.
What’s she up to now?
Thanks to her diligence, tenacity, and pure smarts, Rodriguez received a scholarship from Boston University. Here she focuses on biomedical engineering and works in Dr. John A. White’s lab to research how information is processed in the brain. Researchers hope their work will answer such questions as “How can we use our knowledge to help patients with memory disorders and epilepsy?” and “Can the principles of brain function be adapted to build ‘smart’ devices?”
Maria isn’t someone to take free time lightly. After class, she teaches 10- to 13-year-olds how to code and design websites. She also works in the lab, runs, and watches TED talks.
So what’s next for Maria?
Just like the great white shark, which happens to be her favorite animal, Maria isn’t scared to leap out of the water. She’s determined to become financially successful and isn’t afraid to break barriers to achieve that goal. She hopes to design prosthetics or work with tissue engineering. As she notes, however, her opportunities are truly endless, thanks to the donors who have funded her scholarship.
“They have not only changed my life but have changed my family’s. And for that I am eternally grateful.”