Rodrigo Delacruz
PSJA Collegiate High School Program, Class of 2025
Plans to Attend: UTSA.
Major: Civil Engineering
Awards/Honors
- AP scholar
- State Qualifier for Business Professionals of America (sophomore year solo event).
- Senior year solo
- Regional champion senior year team)
- Track of Hope Colors of Cancer presentation Second Place
- Presidential Honor Roll for South Texas College (4.0 GPA)
- PSJA Student Ambassador
Tell us your story! What hardships or challenges have you overcome to get to where you are today? How have these experiences motivated you to pursue your educational dreams?
A very hard challenge that shaped who I have become was my father being a functioning alcoholic for almost all of my life. I grew up having a very defensive personality due to my situation at home. I was introverted and egotistical in fear if I showed weakness I would be stepped on as I felt happened at home.
Life at school was a blurry reflection of my attitude at home. I got home, ate, went to my room, got on my phone, and hoped my father did not come home drunk. My attitude began changing after attending a religious three-day retreat in the middle of my sophomore year. This was my first step to becoming a better person because it was the first time I recognized my negative attitude. One of the core beliefs of a Catholic is reconciliation which involves opening and reflecting our sins to a priest, and thankfully this was a key moment of the retreat. As I began to tell my sins I started to tear up. I felt as if God had slowly begun to release the weights in my soul. Those chains that kept me heavy were finally broken. All of the strings finally unraveled. After this encounter, I became joyful and saw life positively. This helped improve my school life as I quickly regained my footing and struggled less with procrastination. I was able to enhance my help with the clubs I participated in. I finally harnessed my leadership position through Business Professionals of America, my main club. I have become an instrument of God’s love and mercy, through his love, I’ve gotten a second chance to write my own story.
Not only did I get better but two years ago after my father quit his job he completely stopped drinking to get better for us. Although there have been many economic ups and downs since my dad began to work for himself it has all motivated me to pursue a career in engineering to one day give back to my parents who sacrificed so much venturing into a new country to give my siblings and myself better opportunities. I want to show my siblings that even from a humble beginning you can do anything you want to with grit and determination. Most of all I want to prove to myself that I can achieve the dream of my inner kid to help my family into a better future.
How have the opportunities offered at PSJA ISD, including the PSJA Early College Program, impacted your life?
The opportunities at PSJA ISD have greatly impacted my life as they gave me a little push to find my potential through my academics. It goes back since elementary with the options to do clubs and participate in UIL events such as chess and math. These doors that PSJA gracefully opened allowed the little spark in me to catch fire and become a bright blaze. Going into middle school the chance to take Algebra 1 in the seventh grade opened yet another door for me, Arithmetic. I found a wonderful love for math in that advanced math course. It allowed me to get into the Tex-PREP program that was partnered with South Texas College at the time, where yet again I found a little curiosity for engineering. Were it not for these pathways that PSJA had I would never have found my passion, engineering. Going into high school I had a very clear idea of what I would do. I was planning to take math courses to follow an engineering career. The Associates in Math that I am nearing completion allowed me to be accepted into the Cockrell School of Engineering which had been my dream school. These opportunities at PSJA not only helped me grow academically but helped me find the right pathway for me at an early stage of my life.
What, if anything, would you say to your PSJA Family?
To my PSJA Family I would say thank you, I could not be more thankful for the wonderful environment that is kept at every school I went to, from the amazing teachers I had at Dr. Long, to those at LBJ, and now my mentors and peers at Collegiate, a heartfelt thank you is all I can say, for without everyone that has helped me I would not be the person I am now.
