Meet Alumnus Liandro
Rodriguez by Rebecca Lewis Since graduating from Washburn University with a Bachelor’s degree in mass media, concentrating on public relations, alumnus Liandro Rodriguez, 2018, lives his life in Japan as an assistant language teacher. The love for his career is overpowering, but not as much as the care and adoration he has developed with students. “I know this sounds cheesy,” said Rodriguez,“but man, they are the best.” Rodriguez’s time at Washburn gave him the confidence to pursue opportunities that he would not have in the past. “My first semester at Washburn University was the most difficult,” said Rodriguez, “I had very poor time management. But during that point in my life, I had never taken time to do homework or study.” For a split second, Rodriguez thought about giving up, believing he wasn’t cut out for school. But the support he received from multiple mass media professors inspired Rodriguez to keep on going and to not give up. Dr. Kristen Grimmer, his advisor in public relations, stated Rodriguez’s love for traveling was a way of discovering his passion in life. “I loved being his adviser in mass media because he and I both chose to study abroad in Japan when we were students,” said Grimmer. “After he completed his study abroad experience, we talked about all the cool things he got to do and learn. He presented to my class about his trip and talked about how traveling helped him expand his career goals. All of his class-
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mates enjoyed working with him and I could not be any more proud of all that he’s accomplished since he graduated.” A year after his graduation, Rodriguez moved back home to be in the comfort of his own home with family. Two months later, Rodriguez applied for multiple jobs, again without luck. He settled for a manual labor job.
photos courtesy of Liandro Rodriguez
English Instructor, Liandro Rodriguez, discusses challenges teaching abroad in Japan.
