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Carmen Rodriguez

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Finalist

Bio

When I was a kid, I loved to write short stories. As an adult, I still love writing but I wanted to make a difference in people's lives. Currently, I am aspiring to become a self-help author because it combines my love to write with the ability to help other people.

Education

Arizona State University Online

Bachelor's degree program
2020 - 2022
  • Majors:
    • English Language and Literature, General
  • Minors:
    • Communication, General

Miscellaneous

  • Desired degree level:

  • Graduate schools of interest:

  • Transfer schools of interest:

  • Majors of interest:

  • Not planning to go to medical school
  • Career

    • Dream career field:

      Writing and Editing

    • Dream career goals:

    • customer representative

      HomeGoods
      2019 – 20201 year

    Sports

    Ballet

    Intramural
    2016 – Present8 years

    Arts

    • ballet
      2015 – Present

    Public services

    • Volunteering

      Reading Pals through Suncoast United Way — Once a week, I helped elementary school age children develop literacy skills.
      2017 – 2019

    Future Interests

    Advocacy

    Volunteering

    Philanthropy

    Entrepreneurship

    Endia Janel Visionary Women Scholarship
    Literature Lover Scholarship
    In my personal life, I was struggling with boundaries and dealing with someone who had a narcissistic personality. At the same time, we were reading Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets in my English class at Arizona State University (ASU). Although I had read Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets numerous times, it was not until my junior year that I realized why I loved literature- it can be used as a creative problem solving tool. In my English class, we were given a character analysis assignment, and I was assigned to Lucious Malfoy. As I analyzed Lucious Malfoy, I was able to see his narcissistic personality. From there, I realized that the person I was dealing with in real life had a narcissistic personality similar to Lucious’. I knew that I was unhappy in my personal life, but I did not understand why. By having to explain Lucious’ narcissistic behavior I was able to to pinpoint the problem in my personal life. While writing a paper about Lucious’ narcissistic behavior and how it impacted other characters, I began to see myself as Dobby. Like Dobby, I was unhappy because I was being controlled by a narcissist. I realized that I was not an indentured servant and that unlike Dobby, no one needed present me with a piece of clothing to free me. If it had not been for that literature assignment where I had to analyze Lucious’ narcissistic personality, I would not have done any problem solving in my personal life. I might not have realized that I was stuck in a toxic relationship with a narcissist in real life. About a year after I analyzed Lucious, I had a meeting with the English department’s internship coordinator. I was still not sure what I wanted to do with my English degree. She asked me to think about what kinds of books I found myself re-reading before our next appointment. I looked at the stack of library books in my room. At that moment, I realized that I was re-reading self-help books. After making the connection about my toxic relationship with a narcissist, I knew I needed help. Unfortunately, I could not afford mental health counseling, nor I did not have a magic wand that could wave my mental health problems away. Due to my circumstances, I began to do some online search and sought self-help books. Before my analysis of Lucious, I had never read books in the self-help genre. Nevertheless, analyzing literature helped me to figure out what to do career wise. Currently, I hope to pursue a career as a self-help author. As an English major, analyzing a character or a theme in literature comes naturally to me. In contrast, analyzing myself and real life problems do not always come naturally to me. By re-reading Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, I was able to pinpoint a toxic relationship and figure out how to use my English degree. For this reason, I love that literature offers me a creative way to problem solve.