May 2022 – Graduate
Rosario Rodriguez – Karuk Tribe
Yreka, CA
SHEP
School: University of Nebraska Lincoln
Degree: Counseling Psychology
GPA: 3.74

Community Service
With COVID-19, being out and part of the community has been difficult. Throughout this year, I’ve gone out and been a part of the activism in support of Black/Indigenous lives, in support of Asian Americans, and in support of Hispanic/Latinx lives; I’ve marched the streets, signed petitions, and donated money. Currently, I’m working with two other classmates at my university on how to aid those with food insecurity. We are working to develop a program to inform students, or family and friends, of their eligibility for SNAP, where and how to apply, etc. We are also looking at how to provide food and/or stipends to those who don’t meet eligibility.

Short Bio
Ayukii, My name is Rosario Rodriguez. I grew up in Yreka, California, and am a Karuk Tribal member. After high school, I was accepted into Southern Oregon University in Ashland, Oregon. While there, I majored in Criminal Justice/Criminology and Psychology. In my last two years of undergraduate school, I worked at a residential treatment facility for youth boys who were wards of the state. Through this job, I learned my higher calling and decided that being a therapist for children and families is what I was meant to do. I was accepted into Bastyr two months before my graduation. Fast forward to 2021, I am currently a counseling intern for Southwest Youth and Family Services in West Seattle. I work with low-socioeconomic status, homeless, minority, immigrant children, and families. I strive to work from a culturally competent, trauma-informed lens and my hope is to work with Native and Indigenous communities upon graduation. I am forever grateful for my higher education opportunities and promise to commit to being an asset to the behavioral and mental health field as an Indigenous, Hispanic woman.

Yootva!