Mike Singer | Office of Marketing and Communications | (909) 537-8107 | msinger@csusb.edu
For Avi Rodriguez, supporting students at the CSUSB Palm Desert Campus (PDC) is more than a career. It is deeply connected to her own educational journey, her cultural heritage and the Coachella Valley community she calls home.
As Cal State San Bernardino celebrates Hispanic Heritage Month, Rodriguez’s story reflects how representation, lived experience and student-centered leadership can strengthen a Hispanic-Serving Institution like CSUSB. Now serving as executive director of student engagement and completion at PDC, she has built her career around a simple but deeply personal idea: students should know that they belong in higher education.
Rodriguez was born in Guadalajara, Mexico, and moved to Thermal, located in the Coachella Valley, when she was 4 years old. A graduate of Coachella Valley High School, she understands firsthand the experiences of students growing up in the Eastern Coachella Valley and navigating the path to college. She has earned a bachelor of arts degree in sociology from Cal State San Marcos, a master’s degree in postsecondary educational leadership with a specialization in student affairs from San Diego State University and a doctorate in educational leadership from CSUSB.
Her own college journey also shaped the way she understands the challenges many first-generation and low-income students encounter. During her first year at Cal State San Marcos, Rodriguez participated in the College Assistance Migrant Program (CAMP). She later worked as a CAMP peer mentor during her final undergraduate year and first year of graduate school. That experience continues to shape how she serves students today.
Rodriguez knows that academic ability alone does not determine whether a student succeeds in college. Students may be balancing work, family responsibilities, financial pressure, commuting, being the first in their family to navigate a university system, or simply trying to understand rules and expectations that were never explained to them. For Rodriguez, the answer is not to expect students to figure it all out on their own. The university must provide access to resources, meaningful relationships, guidance, opportunities and people who recognize the realities students are navigating outside the classroom.
Rodriguez began her CSUSB career as an intern at the Rancho Mirage Student Center. From there, she advanced through a series of positions at PDC, serving as an admissions and recruitment counselor, academic adviser, student engagement coordinator and interim assistant dean of student engagement. Her progression from intern to executive director reflects both her commitment to students and the breadth of knowledge she has gained across the student experience, from recruitment and enrollment to engagement, persistence and degree completion.
For Rodriguez, belonging is more than making students feel welcome. It means building an environment where students can see themselves in the university, ask questions without hesitation, find people who will advocate for them, and have access to the same kinds of opportunities that help students thrive on any university campus. Her open-door approach encourages students to share ideas, seek assistance when challenges arise and become active participants in campus life.
That work has taken on special meaning at PDC. Rodriguez is an advocate for ensuring the institution truly understands who PDC students are and what they need. Coachella Valley students bring tremendous ambition and talent, but they also may be navigating responsibilities and circumstances that look different from the traditional image of a residential college student. Serving them well requires more than bringing university programs to the desert. It requires listening to students, understanding the region and designing services around the community the campus actually serves.
For Rodriguez, that also means making sure PDC students receive a full university experience close to home. She has championed student engagement, professional development, volunteerism, leadership opportunities and connections with local organizations and employers. Those experiences help students build confidence, expand their networks and see pathways to meaningful careers after graduation.
Her work is especially significant at CSUSB, a Hispanic-Serving Institution in a region with a large Latino population and deep ties to agriculture, immigration and multigenerational family life. To Rodriguez, being Hispanic-serving must mean more than meeting an enrollment threshold. It should be visible in the way an institution listens to students, invests resources, removes barriers and intentionally creates conditions in which Latino students and other historically underserved students can succeed.
Beyond supporting students academically, Rodriguez believes strongly in leadership, volunteerism and community engagement. Her involvement in local service organizations has reinforced her belief that students benefit when the university helps connect them with the wider Coachella Valley. Those relationships allow students to give back, develop professional skills, meet community leaders and begin imagining themselves as contributors to the region’s future.
Rodriguez’s story is a reminder that heritage can be honored not only by celebrating where people come from, but also by recognizing how lived experience can shape leadership and open doors for others. Her journey has come full circle. The student who once needed CAMP to remind her that she belonged in college now spends her career making sure Coachella Valley students receive that same message through the programs, resources, opportunities and community waiting for them at the Palm Desert Campus.
About the CSUSB Palm Desert Campus: The CSUSB Palm Desert Campus is dedicated to providing a transformative educational experience in the Coachella Valley. With a focus on academic excellence and community engagement, the campus offers undergraduate and graduate degree programs designed to meet the diverse needs of its students and the region.
For more information about the CSUSB Palm Desert Campus, contact Mike Singer in the Office of Marketing and Communications at msinger@csusb.edu or (760) 341-2883, ext. 78107, or visit the PDC website at www.csusb.edu/pdc.