Ana Rodriguez Rodriguez poses for a portrait in her office in Phillips Hall on Monday, March 9, 2020. Rodriguez holds a PhD in Spanish Literature from the University of Wisconsin and is working on her second from Universidad Complutense de Madrid in Critical Edition.
Kelsey Harrell, The Daily Iowan
As a first-generation student, Ana Rodríguez-Rodríguez, Spanish and Portuguese associate professor and director of graduate studies, found it hard to talk about her difficulties and challenges she experienced as a student with her parents, but felt it made her more of a fighter when she left Spain to come to the U.S. and pursue her master’s degree in Spanish literature.
Rodríguez-Rodríguez chose eventually to stay in the U.S. and earn her Ph.D., and all was made possible by a scholarship she received that covered her tuition.
“I didn’t have so many opportunities [to make mistakes], which I think was positive because it made me take care of every single thing very, very carefully,” she said.