AUTOBIOGRAPHY

I was born on September 23, 1963 in Bogota, Colombia. I am the first of three
siblings. The second was born four years later and the last one, my sister, 12 years after.
In early times, I was close to my brother Marco Antonio; we shared a lot of experiences,
games and dreams. With my sister Diana Virginia, I always kept a good relationship and
we communicate a lot. My two siblings live in Colombia. Both graduated from college.
Our neighborhood was beautiful. All families did the same things. The fathers worked
and mothers attended the house, their sons studied and knew their role in society. I could
say we lived this way for twenty years when many families bought a new house or their
sons went to study in other cities. In our neighborhood, we could play outside the house.
We played soccer and basketball, rode bikes, or simply threw stones into the river in front
of our neighborhood. I lived a happy childhood, with many friends and a very stable
family. My parents celebrated fifty-one years of marriage this past December.

After finishing high school, I started college and obtained better grades. Seeing
the results of my effort, I finally reached a bachelors degree in Business Administration.
Now I can say that I have studied all my life. When I arrived in the United States, it was
like starting a new life; a new city, another language, new friends and today, after 12
years, this process continues. My teacher of philosophy in high school one day talked
about the importance of knowledge and said, The mind is your most valuable treasure.

Without question teachers, friends, and family people influence us in diverse

ways. The teaching process and the style of teachers have changed. They are focused

now on the individual development of the early years. If all my early teachers applied
these new theories, my love for study would have started sooner. In my life, I have had
friends who influenced me in positive ways, like Hector, whom helped me to learn
Algebra and Martha whom helped me to obtain an excellent job. Others, like Guillermo,
whom induced me to smoke, I do not consider now a good friend but he was wrong too.
Years later, I finally quit. My cousin Noe taught me that if you have an appointment at 1
pm, it is at this hour, not after, not before. My parents always encouraged me to study and
to be a better person, as well as being excellent providers. My wife Consuelo is an
excellent worker, with an extraordinary mind, and a lovely person all-together, and my
son Mario, who is the object of my efforts and for whom I will be a good example.

I consider myself a fanatic of study, to learn new things, thinking if I need to

teach, I need my message, to be clear and effective. My first step was to earn C.D.A. in
Spanish and now in English. My role of childcare provider requires responsibility; I need
to reach the tools to make my job effective. This job is so complete, in it I play many
games, run, jump, walk, sing, dance and recreate books with the kids, teaching them to
eat, help with homeworks, talk Spanish and English and change diapers. The guidance
that I give children will be the most important lesson for their future. In nowadays, the
parents need to work and can stay only with their children 2 or 3 effective hours in a day.
As a childcare provider, I can pass eight or more hours. Maybe their moms are tired and
do not cook, give them only fast food. We need to follow high standards to feed our
children in order for them to be healthy. As a childcare provider, I am complementing
and enhancing the parents knowledge of their kids.

I will be a hard bridge between kids and their future life, creating love for learning
that I did not have as child.

Juan C. Rodriguez