Growing up in the Bronx, my parents worked very hard to give me every opportunity that they never had. They didn’t make much money as a livery cab driver and seamstress, but they instilled in me a strong work ethic and a focus on academic achievement. And when I did achieve, they would sometimes give me a little reward for my effort. It helped.
Perhaps the biggest break in my life came when I was accepted to Regis High School – an elite college preparatory school on the Upper East Side. It was literally worlds away from the one-bedroom Bronx apartment I shared with my parents and older brother and from my godparents’ apartment in the East River Houses in East Harlem, which I visited regularly just a mile away from school.
I was lucky, ultimately getting degrees from Columbia University and NYU Law School and having a successful professional career, but many of my friends – really talented, good kids – weren’t so fortunate, ending up in a far different place. I’ve thought long and hard about why the windows of opportunity always appeared to open more widely for me than for the kids in my old neighborhood. The answer is simple: I went to a high school where my teachers had high expectations, challenging me to think critically and excel academically. I believe firmly that an academically rigorous high school education is singularly the most transformative event in the life of a young person with big dreams and a strong work ethic. I believe this to be true for all students, regardless of their racial, ethnic or economic background.
My primary passion is to provide more young people, especially those from neighborhoods like the one I’m from, with the educational opportunities I had. Thus, I was delighted to become the Executive Director of Rewarding Achievement (REACH), an innovative pay-for-performance program that aims to improve the college readiness of highly-motivated, hard-working low-income students, especially those from ethnic and racial groups that are underrepresented in higher education. REACH incorporates many of the things that helped me along the way – a keen focus on high academic achievement and rewards for a job well done.
At REACH, we believe that when students work hard and boldly take on the most important and difficult academic challenges, they should be rewarded and celebrated for making this commitment to education – an education that will prepare them to become the successful leaders our communities sorely need. We believe this deeply, because we’ve lived it.
Best regards,
Edward Rodriguez
Executive Director, Rewarding Achievement