For DonorsFor Applicants
user profile avatar

Mykal Rodriguez

2,085

Bold Points

1x

Finalist

Bio

Diligent and personable airline employee. 10 years of success with customer service, data entry, and especially as a leader and mentor of others. From stage to film to airlines, my records reflect I’m a high performer and have a hand in assuring safety. I continue to learn and challenge myself in processes, techniques, and philosophies to fit any role.

Education

DePaul University

Master's degree program
2021 - 2023
  • Majors:
    • Business Administration, Management and Operations

Northeastern Illinois University

Bachelor's degree program
2010 - 2018
  • Majors:
    • Multi/Interdisciplinary Studies, Other

J Sterling Morton West High Sch

High School
2007 - 2010

Miscellaneous

  • Desired degree level:

    Doctoral degree program (PhD, MD, JD, etc.)

  • Graduate schools of interest:

  • Transfer schools of interest:

  • Majors of interest:

  • Not planning to go to medical school
  • Career

    • Dream career field:

      Airlines/Aviation

    • Dream career goals:

      Management Leader

    • Actor/Producer

      Breaking Fate Entertainment
      2011 – Present13 years
    • Cashier

      McDonalds
      2013 – 20152 years
    • Career Agent

      American Income Life Insurance
      2019 – 20201 year
    • Supervisor-Quality Control and Processes

      United Airlines
      2022 – Present2 years
    • Quality Control and Process Auditor

      United Airlines
      2021 – 20221 year
    • Ramp Lead Agent

      United Airlines
      2015 – 20216 years

    Sports

    Wrestling

    Club
    2007 – 2007

    Football

    Club
    2007 – 20081 year

    Arts

    • Various

      Acting
      2008 – Present

    Public services

    • Volunteering

      Ester Seals — Aide
      2010 – Present

    Future Interests

    Advocacy

    Volunteering

    Philanthropy

    Entrepreneurship

    Augustus L. Harper Scholarship
    Education has been important for several reasons. First and obvious, by furthering my education, I am increasing my chances to look to higher-paid roles and positions that would look at me and my hard work. Some folks are content with having just the diploma from high school to get by. I am not, I was hungry and pushed for my bachelor's and then my MBA, and it is not out of the realm of possibility that I could go for a second Master's or Doctorate. It should be noted also that I commend those who followed the trade school path, as that is another branch of education that is undervalued in my opinion. The second would be that it allows me to expand my knowledge and horizons in skills that I currently know, Business and Theater specifically for me, and allow me to refine them. I advocate for an opportunity to fine-tune my skills be it through university, continuing education, or workshops. Learning the fundamentals is important, and gets you through the majority of situations and tasks you come across. But a person needs to understand that, it's a big world out there, with many players and the field is competitive, you have to stand out. Third, education allows me to accumulate or discover new skills and concepts that I was not familiar with before, view them, and then study them, increasing not only my value but also the knowledge base that advances me ahead of the pack. Six Sigma, PMP, and acquiring certificates would be my next goals to better my credentials and knowledge, making me an essential player in any business. Last but not least, every step taken leads to enlightenment for me, to be a better person, a better role model, and overall having a better understanding of life. I compare the education process to traveling, the more you travel, the farther you travel, the more well-rounded and cultured you become. Every class or lesson I take and will take leads me to that enlightenment I seek. Education is very important to me, for I was a kid who did not like school, did not like to sit in class, and did not foresee myself being where I am today. Had I not been pushed to succeed, stay committed and work hard, I would not be the person I am today. Through education, I am stronger, smarter, happier, and have become abitious to the point where I will not stop improving.
    Mental Health Importance Scholarship
    Mental health is underrated from my perspective, there is more emphasis placed on physical health and status. The mind however is need for the body to work at all on it's own. Without the mind, the body cannot run and operate. A good analogy I can think of is a customizeable pc, you can replace all the mechanics inside, the fans, the wiring, the casing itself, but a computer's cpu is the most vital piece, if that goes you have to get a brand new cpu, therefore its a different computer. Like a pc, our minds endure abuse consistently from all side, in our personal lives, as well as in our careers. As people we need to be more responsible for our wellbeing and not abuse our mental health for the sake of working hard or critical thinking. There is research and programs out there the general public has access to that promotes and helps regulate mental well being, plenty at no cost. There are options to speak to therapsists and consultants as well to help in that regard as well. Taking part in either for at least 10 minutes a day, calms the mind down, and in the long term can repair potentially and improve brain functions and skills like problem solving or computation. I myself work in an office space as an analytical superivisor for nine hours a day, at least five days a week. Most of my time involves looking at numbers and doing analysis. I started my journey into improving my mental health prior to starting that role. I make it a task daily to spend ten minutes in a mindfulness sessions. Usually I prefer using a youtube video provide by Calm that goes through breathing exercises, deep reflection, and recognize the body itself. On Wednesday's the company runs a 15 meditiation/yoga session via teams that is done at the desk. That is ran either by one of the people on the call with the experience, or a professional brought on to guide the people who joined the call. These are my main exercises for my mental health, but I also practice good housekeeping in my daily duties, I prefer to get the essentials done up front and at the beginning, which allows me extra time to relax if needed, or to focus on external projects or the extra curricular if work does not get busy. The key takeaway for all of this for me is first, I am clearing distractions and obstacles head on when possible to free my mind up. Secondly, by doing the mindfulness sessions or meditation, I am relaxing my mind and diverting it away from stress and abuse that is impacting me.
    Craig Huffman Memorial Scholarship
    I always enjoyed traveling since I was a child. From the age of 5 to now, I have traveled across the United States, and at least 12 countries by the time of this essay. It was an interesting path destiny laid for me when I ended up working for United Airlines as a ramp agent. Out of all the jobs I had up to that point, nothing compared to that enviorment, and it was amazing the amount of motivation I had doing it. There is something to be said about getting up in the early hours of the morning seeing the sun shine down on the terminal, casting its light on the aircraft that I would be working, from small regional jets to 787s. While I am no pilot, I became invested in what was going into the airline industry, the cargo, the customers, the quality the people involved in different departments put into the flight. From ramp and cargo, I then started learning about business and management in the airlines, getting training and education from actual subject matter experts. My ultimate goal became to start moving up the ranks but to also learn other aspects of the airlines, planes and how they work to some degree. From the ramp I then started working as an auditor, particular in cleanliness, watching cleaners clean the inside of the aircraft and grading their performance at 12 times/flights a shift. That experience led me to understand the inside of the aircraft from above the wing, going inside the cockpit, the crew quarters, seeing insides of the compartments and crannys that existed. I could go on in terms of the passion I have working in the airline industry, but as a leader I learned it is not just me learning about airplanes and processes that would define my leadership style. As a leader, I find it important to share my knowledge and to encourage my people to be knowledgeable and confident enough to trust their judgement and allow them to make critical decisions, and I would be there to support them. I am also an advocate and practicioner of good housekeeping and process development and improvement, for all parties. If I work on something and I have the means and resources to improve upon it, I will make it happen, and collaborate with other parties to refine and develop the concepts and ideas that come out from it. Most important to me is investing into my people, providing them the means and resources to grow as I have or more in the industry. Be it through education, or mentoring, coaching, or helping start them up with connection to get them where they want to be.
    Bold Science Matters Scholarship
    My favorite discovery to date is electrolysis. Reason being my side hobby is blacksmithing and restoration. I came across the process via reading and seeing the process conducted by professionals on video. The main ingredients used are: water, a container non-metal, a power source such a car battery, alligator clips or something similar that energy can go through, and the pieces you are working with. I learn and attempted myself in a controlled environment on old rusty pieces, and I was satisfied with the result. I was able to restore and save several metal pieces from overall corrosion, reducing abrasive use, removing impurities that bonded with the material. I heard they do something similar with but I don't want to get into that. From that process, other processes developed such as electroplating. Multi-faceted, works in varying degrees, is a fun process to explore and experiment with, please use the proper safety precautions.