My name is Ricardo Rodriguez.
I'm a music education major and I am from
Culpepper, VA.
I'm a criminal justice major with a concentration
in forensic crime scene investigations.
Tammie Goode, I'm a senior studying marketing
with a focus in product and brand management
and I'm originally from Roanoke, Virginia.
I was in foster care for 8 years so that pretty
much was my path to where I am now in the
School of Social Work here at VCU.
I remember getting the email and I rushed
into the bathroom after I dropped my tables'
food off and went back to tell everyone in
the kitchen.
They were all excited for me.
One day, you came to my house when I was living
in VA Beach and you came over and you were
acting normal then all the sudden you opened
your jacket and said, "I made my decision"
You had on a VCU t-shirt, of course I freaked
out, I was being super dramatic, I was like
"Oh my gawd! oh my gawd! oh my gawd!"
We commemorated the moment, made it super
official that you became a
Jaren: A ram!
Go Rams! (laughs)
I get to experience something that my parents
didn't have an opportunity to do, they actually,
at an early age, had to leave school to work.
I'm able to be that example for other people
who are in the foster care system.
All the hard work that me and my parents
have put into play...
People who have supported me since I was younger...
This day isn't just about me, it's about us.
They invested so much time and energy, and
love, and support- and food (laughs)
Do you remember when I told you I got into VCU?
What did that moment mean?
It meant everything really, because all of
the hard work that we put in to get in to
school had started to pay off and now to see
you graduating in less than a week or two,
I mean it's an amazing feeling.
How did you guys feel?
We felt good, when you said, "I'm going to
VCU to get an education there"
Ricardo: Yeah.
I'm proud of you.
To me, it's the symbolism that I've accomplished
it, I've done it.
I'm just proud of my fellow colleagues for
making it with me too.
I think it's not going to hit me until I actually
walk across the stage.
I'm probably going to be a ball of emotions.
Every time I talk to my parents about graduation,
my mom starts to cry.
I think they're in awe of us being in this
space and me reaching this milestone.
Overcoming things my family didn't have the
accessibility to accomplish, I think for me
it'll be a statement of trailblazing for my
generation and my brothers generation that
comes down the line, that they'll have someone
to look up to that went to college if that's
what they decide to do.
