By RASSEY DE LOS SANTOS
Contributing Writer
One of the perks of Ronald Rodriguez’s part time job at T-Mobile in Crossgates Mall is that he gets to play with the technology that surrounds him, including exploring the latest phones before anyone else does.
Rodriguez, 19, is a sophomore of The College of Saint Rose. When he isn’t hitting the books, he is working 20 hours a week, Monday through Thursday. He takes the CDTA 10 on Western Avenue or the 114 on Madison Avenue as his transportation to his job.
“Waiting for the bus is a pain.The buses aren’t reliable and I have to be at the bus stop 20 minutes early,” Rodriguez said.
Part of his job as a sales associate is to help customers with any questions or problems they might have, such as phone issues, troubleshooting, diagnosing, connection problems, new batteries for the phone, convincing people to buy a better phone, and answering phone calls.
Rodriguez likes his job because it is laid back and not overwhelming, except when some customers make it harder for Rodriguez to assist them.
“Ronald is the sweetest. We’re all very friendly here and everyone gets along nicely. Ronald likes to joke around a lot and make the job interesting, but he’s also a hard worker; he’s kind to the customers and is respectful and extremely patient with them,” said Annette Ramirez, Rodriguez’s co-worker.
“The job pays well for being part time, my coworkers are really nice and make it easy and fun to work there, and it’s always cool to know when the latest phone is going to come out before anyone else,” Rodriguez said.
Rodriguez is an accounting major at the College, and is good at math. He likes solving problems that other people cannot and has plans to earn his accounting degree to become a certified public accountant in New York City. His goal is to work for one of the top accounting firms in the country, Deloitte.
Before arriving to Albany, Rodriguez attended Grand Street Campus High School in Brooklyn. He was active and participated in sports there. Rodriguez played football, basketball, baseball, and ran for fun.
He was on the junior varsity baseball team his freshman year, but decided to leave once he discovered his love for handball; after that, Rodriguez played from his freshman year through his senior year. He enjoyed playing varsity handball for his high school’s team and on the sidelines for fun.
“High school was fun and good social wise, I knew a lot of people, but academically, it was not good,” Rodriguez said.
Rodriguez is the youngest of three siblings; his older brother graduated from Saint Rose and influenced his decision to attend.
Ian Hartman, a friend and suitemate, had only good things to say. “Ronald is a nice guy. I first got to know him when we started to play basketball together and our friendship grew from there. He’s a hard worker and likes to have fun; he is always offering a helping hand, and is overall just fun to be around.”
Rodriguez prefers to go home on the weekends because he misses his mother’s home cooked meals.
“I go home on most weekends because I miss the food so much, and I can’t cook for myself,” Rodriguez said.
Rodriguez thinks of himself as a well-rounded guy with a good heart, and with many hopes and dreams for his future; during his free time Rodriguez enjoys playing video games, hanging out with friends and family, and listening to music.
