National Park College (NPC), US Stations and Lloyd’s Auto Sales announced the recipient
of the Second Chance Scholarship this week. Cindy Rodriguez of Glenwood was selected
as this year’s recipient.
The Lloyd's Second Chance Scholarship is available to students who need a second chance at earning an education thanks to the generosity of Lloyd's Auto Sales and National Park College. The scholarship covers full tuition and fees for two years.
Rodriguez is a nontraditional student returning to NPC after dropping out a few years ago. She graduated from Centerpoint High School in 2011 after relocating to Arkansas from California.
Rodriguez said she first considered studying something in the medical field, but realized her passion was making a difference in the lives of children. “I want to be a teacher. I decided that I didn’t really want to be a nurse or a doctor, but a teacher because I feel like teachers, they see that improvement with kids and after working at Centerpoint, I know I love it. I am a paraprofessional right now. I love being with kids and I know I want to do something with kids.”
Rodriguez hopes to transfer to Henderson State University to complete an education degree and plans to teach English as a second language (ESL). She shared her experience with learning English and hopes to provide support for students who may struggle as she did. “It’s close to my heart because I was born in California and I was going to an all-Spanish school. When I moved to Arkansas, it was really hard for me because I had to learn the English language,” she said.
Lloyd’s Auto Sales owner, Lloyd Robertson said, “Lloyd’s Auto Sales would like to congratulate Cindy Rodriquez for being this year’s recipient of the Second Chance Scholarship. Cindy is a great example of what this scholarship is all about since this is her second attempt at NPC. Cindy’s obvious maturity and motivation to succeed will undoubtedly help her finally earn her college degree. We would like to wish her the very best as she pursues her goal of becoming an ESL teacher.”
