Sonia Rodriguez has held one job for 26 years, and she loves it. She’s a senior registration clerk in the Bureau of Disease Control of the city’s Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. She’s a member of the clinic team that provides people with free testing for sexually transmitted diseases and infections in the same neighborhood where she lives, Morrisania, the Bronx.
Meeting Sonia, it quickly becomes clear that you’ve encountered someone with a refreshingly unique personality and a strong sense of self. She bubbles with energy, opinions, and plans. Now in her 50s, she says: “I dare say that I am going through not a mid-life crisis, but instead, a mid-life breakthrough.” Attending SLU is part of that.
Opportunities for education always call to Sonia: there’s hardly a training session on a flyer that she doesn’t sign up for. Her dedication to both her job and professional development led her to become active in her union, Local 1549 of DC 37, and to pursue a B.A. in Urban and Community Studies. After getting an associate’s degree online, she’s now completing her second semester at SLU, with financial support from the local.
“In the future, I hope to work for DC 37 headquarters or its parent union AFSCME. In addition, I would like to run for the New York City Council or other political office. I want to work in politics after I retire from the civil service title. I want to use all this knowledge that I am obtaining from SLU and pay it forward to the community and myself,” she said.
Early Training
A native New Yorker, Sonia is a mother of three and lives with her longtime partner. She credits her role as an advocate to childhood experiences. The daughter of immigrants from the Dominican Republic, she was thrust into the role of English-Spanish translator early on. It’s a common position for children of immigrants, and a challenging one, as youngsters struggle to interpret conversations – which are not always polite – on grownup subjects like welfare benefits.
“We have to go with our parents at a very young age and be the translator. Now that I’m an adult, I realize most of those situations bring trauma. These children, at a very young age, have to mature,” Sonia said. “It got me to become an advocate, the fact that I was doing it at the age of 7 already.”
Sonia demonstrates that it’s a role with many dimensions. She is a listener, messenger, connector, adviser, problem-solver, booster, and organizer – the kind of organizer that only an experienced administrative professional can be. For example, years ago she noticed that her local’s agendas and meetings could be better organized, so she drew up new plans including an adapted version of Robert’s Rules of Order, which were then adopted by the leadership.
Sonia is the ultimate participant in public affairs, a kind of uber-citizen. She attends meetings of Community Board 3 in her neighborhood, plus activities hosted by CB3. She participated in the pilot of a program at Hostos Community College that yielded her a Community Advocate certificate, and then got deeply involved in the legislative and other activities of her state Assemblymember Chantel Jackson.
“That course showed me how to be more empathetic to people, which I was lacking. I talk pretty raw, and I talk to the point. They taught me in that course why I should feel empathetic to people,” said Sonia, who acknowledged that she can be “a little bossy” and “a debater.”
Other words she often uses to describe herself are “obsessed” and “spiritual.” Spiritual, in that the influence of God and the universe are part of her everyday consciousness. And obsessed, as in: “I am borderline obsessed with my union work.”
Learning to Lead
A turning point for Sonia was participating in the Lillian Roberts Women’s Leadership Academy (named for DC 37’s former executive director). “I went to the academy – that was the life-changer. I felt, ‘I belong here, and no one’s going to kick me out.’ I’m always going to look for an institution that gives me this feeling,” she said.
“After that, I started to get involved with my child’s school. And there I became a member of the PTA board. I did all the jobs except for treasurer,” Sonia said. “That also gave me the experience and the skills to know more about myself, to the point of knowing I’m a natural-born leader. It’s natural for me to listen to people and immediately calculate the quickest solution to their problem. I get straight to the point.”
Sonia recently took on several union leadership positions that will likely put her skills to use. Local 1549 represents around 11,000 clerical workers across boroughs and city agencies. Sonia is now the Chapter Chair for the Department of Health’s 301 clerical workers. As such, she is a delegate to DC37’s monthly meetings. She was also elected as a shop steward for Local 1549 members in the Bronx. And she won election to the position of officer-at-large for the local, a role that helps run meetings smoothly. Sonia is eager to be part of a fresh group of leaders.
“Once or twice a month, my executive board members and I get together to set the agenda and talk about any union issues that need to be brought to the members’ attention,” she said. “With my board, I also want to establish a unity relationship. I provide a secure environment where members may voice their displeasure with the path the union has taken and brainstorm solutions to help rebuild the union we deserve.”
Public School Fan
Sonia likes to be surrounded by happy people who enjoy what they’re doing. If she senses someone is not a good match for the role they have, she’ll help them get a new job – as she did with a coworker who, it turned out, was a better fit at the Department of Education than at the Department of Health. “This should be an obsession, of how you can make a difference,” she said.
For Sonia, learning is an inextricable part of making a difference.
“I’ve always been in public school. I love public school. Without it, we might as well put the shackles back on,” she said. “School is where you can escape, dream, mess up and someone will be there to help you.”
She feels it’s a great honor and achievement for a working adult like herself to be at SLU.
“Working adults, we are hard on ourselves. We feel we should have done college when we were younger. We have to do it after work – have to sacrifice a lot more stuff than if we were younger.” But the sacrifice is worth it.
“I love school so much. I just love it. I want to pay it back. I want to pay it forward.” You can’t help but be curious what this energetic citizen will take on next. One thing seems certain, Sonia Rodriguez will be an active participant wherever she finds herself.