Gabriela Rodriguez
Gabriela Rodriguez is the Title V Grant Director for "Proyecto Éxito" at Oxnard College. She works closely with the Career and University Transfer Center to increase student success in their career and educational pathway. She is a proud graduate of California Lutheran University with a Masters in Education with a Guidance Counselor Credential and the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB) with a B.A. in Cultural Anthropology. Ms. Rodriguez worked in the non-profit sector for 10-years, running a youth leadership development organization for high school and college students, Future Leaders of America. She has over 18 years of experience working to reduce the academic achievement gap and school to prison pipeline. In 2005, she coordinated international youth programs in Mexico City, including conversations about immigration, poverty, and education with Mexican Congressmembers. Gabriela is a trainer in Domestic Violence Prevention/Intervention, Sexual Harassment Prevention, Asset Development, Vita Navis Super Strong career exploration assessment among others.
From 2015-2021, she served as the Student Activities Specialist at Oxnard College. Providing Summer and Winter Leadership programming, she worked to engage students in shared governance committees, implemented the Basic Needs initiative, and worked closely to open the Dream Resource Center. She is creative in engaging students and has served on the Classified Senate board, Campus Use Development and Safety (CUDS) committee and is still the Quad-chair for our Guided Pathways Workgroup.
She is involved in various community organizations serving the Oxnard area and Ventura County as a whole. She is Vice President of the Oxnard Monday Club, board member of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Ventura County, serves on the Oxnard Police Department Chief's Advisory Committee, LUCHA Inc. as well as "I'm a Kid Who Can."
Classified Employee of the Year, Oxnard College August 2020
Alumni
Luis Gonzalez
Fil Morales
Samuel Navarro-Reyes
Adam Hart
My Teaching Philosophy:
Teaching allows me to fulfill what I believe to be a fundamental responsibility of society: To communicate wisdom gathered by years of experience to students entering into the culinary field so they can make informed decisions regarding necessary technical and interpersonal skills in a kitchen environment.
There are basic culinary principles that should be understood by educated cooks. Among these are the history of food, cultures, and the process of evolution and migration of plants, animals, and food cultures that mold modern food movements, trends, and traditions. They should also have a basic understanding of the science of food preparation techniques.
Cuisine should be a fusion of Science, History, and Art on one plate that inspires those who experience it. It is not Art, it is Craftsmanship.
I want students to appreciate and value where food comes from, its journey from the farm to the table and leave my classes with a sense of ownership and pride for the cuisine they create.