Social justice advocate and professor, Abel Rodriguez, wants students to discuss current global issues

By America Lopez-Santiago
October 16, 2019

Abel Rodriguez, director of the center on immigration and assistant professor of religion, law, and social justice is one of the many Cabrini alumni who have come back to teach. Rodriguez was born and raised in the Bridgeport and Norristown area. He grew up in a working-class neighborhood. His mom worked as a housekeeper, and his dad worked in a factory in sanitation. They both did those jobs for 30 years.

                                                                 Journey to Cabrini

Abel Rodriguez speaking at the Border Symposium. Photo by America Lopez-Santiago.
Rodriguez was among the first generation in his family to not only go to college but also graduate high school. After high school, he went to Montgomery County Community College for his first two years of college. Since he was the first in his family to go to college, it was necessary for him to have some financial assistance to be able to afford college. Community college was great because the tuition was very affordable. It was there that he found his passion for teaching and that he wanted to be an educator. People at the time told him that Cabrini College had a strong education program, and it inspired him to visit. As soon as he came to campus, he knew that this is where he would finish his undergraduate studies. Cabrini was helpful in terms of providing financial aid and scholarships to make it affordable so that he could complete his last two years of college.

After Graduation 

 After graduating from college in 2001, Rodriguez got his master’s degree in Latin American Studies from Stanford University. He then went on to Harvard University to get his Master of Theological Studies. Rodriguez studied law at the University of Pennsylvania Law School, then practiced law full-time in Philadelphia for four years. Around 2015, he decided that he wanted to teach around the area. When he was applying for jobs, and a position opened up on campus that he wanted to get because he had a great experience here as a student. He was very excited that he was invited back to be on the faculty and has been teaching ever since. Rodriguez has been working for the university for five years now and loves what he’s teaching.

Love for teaching

Abel Rodriguez at Grace Hall. Photo by Cabrini Magazine.
Rodriguez generally loves all the classes he teaches, but he particularly loves teaching his ECG 300 class on immigration, law, and social justice. He is passionate about immigration and social justice issues. Rodriguez likes getting students more involved in these issues. One of the things he loves about his immigration class is the practical real-world hands-on component of it. Some of the strategies he uses to get students involved are talking about advocacy skills, how one advocates, and how students can be persuasive on a different issue. Once they develop those skills, he gets them to make phone calls and to write letters to legislators. This combination of skills may help them see legislators in person to talk about issues they want to advocate.

Student’s views

“I love his teaching style. It’s very open and easy to understand and learn,” Johnathan Rogers, a current student in Rodriguez’s immigration, law, and social justice class, said.
Rodriguez wants students to know about his classes so that they can discuss these issues that are so important in the world today. He invites students to go and take his class to learn more about immigration and social issues.
“I try to create a welcoming and open environment in which people can talk about their opinions and discuss their ideas,” Rodriguez said.
Not only does professor Rodriguez have students that like his teaching skills, but he also has students that go to talk to him about their problems, even if they don’t have him as a professor.
“I had met Profe, Rodriguez, two years before I took his class. He helped me a lot through school, and I decided that I know his teaching style and him as a person that I wanted to take his class. Also, as a future educator, I like how he interacts with the students and isn’t just talking at them, mostly when it’s a class that has a very heavy topic like immigration,” Ahtziri Lopez-Santiago, a current student in Rodriguez’s immigration, law, and social justice class, said.

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America Lopez-Santiago

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