Originally from Tulare, Ben Rodriguez is a Granite Hills High School campus supervisor who now lives in Porterville where he balances his personal and professional lives.
Rodriguez chose to become a GHHS campus supervisor because he decided he wanted a job where he could work the same schedule as his children. Since his kids are in school, they have the exact schedule so they can spend more time together as Rodriguez loves spending time with them.
It all started in 2020 when he was welcomed to the Granite Hills campus. Unfortunately, in 2020 the COVID-19 pandemic hit, and schools closed down. Rodriguez had only been at Granite Hills for about two months before the lockdown. Rodriguez came back to campus once the lockdown was over and has been here since.
As a campus supervisor, one of his most important rules is to keep students safe and out of trouble. Students do tend to get upset with one another, leading to disagreements. Some even get very upset, and they think fighting is the only option.
With it being Rodriguez’s fifth year on campus, he has only stopped about seven fights, he said. Rodriguez likes to stop the arguments before the actual fighting begins. He doesn’t like when students come to disagreements with each other.
The most rewarding part of being on campus for him is being able to interact with all the students and staff, something he experiences every day in and out of the classroom.
Outside the GHHS campus, Rodriguez enjoys spending time with family and playing sports with kids, which helps him stay energized.
When it comes to balancing work and personal life, Rodriguez said, “I have a good support group, my wife and my kids help me out so it makes it easier.”
The most rewarding part of being on campus for him is being able to interact with all the students and staff but mainly students, something he experiences every day.
In February of 2023, Rodriguez was in a bad car accident. The driver who hit Rodriguez had run a stop sign and hit him. Rodriguez said the recovery process went well but he didn’t like it because he’s used to being busy and he had to slow down for six months. He couldn’t go to work and had to stay home but it was also good because “I got to stay home with my kids and wife,” Rodriguez said.
Over the years, he’s had memorable moments, such as when everyone sent him cards when he got into the car accident. Some teachers went out of their way to have the students make “get well soon” cards for Rodriguez.
Rodriguez has faced students trying to be good and do the right things, getting them to do it and he has overcome it by trying to interact with them daily, trying to build a bond with them.
Rodriguez hopes that students walk away from their classes and have a better future for themselves.
Building relationships with students is key for him, and he does this by acknowledging them and letting them know they are noticed.
“They think nobody pays attention to them so I like to make sure they know I notice them,” Rodriguez said.
Moments that stand out to Rodriguez are when students come out and have a conversation about personal things. He likes to know that students feel safe enough to trust him with personal issues in their lives.
So, if you teachers were wondering, yes, your students do go out and have a conversation with Rodriguez during class time and it isn’t an excuse for why they took a while.
“Something that makes Ben special is the way he knows how to keep secrets,” Granite Hills student Taylor Allee said. “I trust him because nobody knows my secrets besides him.”
The advice he often gives to students is, “Do your best and build on that day to day, make the next day better than the other day,” a piece of wisdom he strongly believes in.
In the next few years, Rodriguez aims to stay at GHHS. He wants every student on campus to keep pushing themselves to keep learning and growing.
Looking ahead 5-10 years, Rodriguez sees himself still being at Granite, maybe not working two jobs, just staying at Granite more. He would like to stay after school to work with sports and other after-school activities.
One last piece of advice Rodriguez gives students is, “Do your best. Your best is good enough.”
