{"id":3483,"date":"2022-08-01T15:26:28","date_gmt":"2022-08-01T15:26:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/shpe.org\/?page_id=3483"},"modified":"2023-04-26T20:58:48","modified_gmt":"2023-04-26T20:58:48","slug":"rod-garcia","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/shpe.org\/about-shpe\/the-story-of-shpe\/rod-garcia\/","title":{"rendered":"Rod Garcia 1943-2022"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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Rod Garcia 1943-2022<\/span><\/h1><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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It's with great sadness that we announce the passing of Rodrigo \u201cRod\u201d Garcia, SHPE\u2019s founder, on July 2, 2022.<\/span><\/h3><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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The saying goes, \u201cWe\u2019re standing on the shoulders of giants,\u201d and Rod was our giant. He was a visionary, leader, advocate, and friend. The SHPE of today – and tomorrow – is only possible because of the work he started almost 50 years ago.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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The Founder of SHPE<\/span><\/h3><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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The saying goes, \u201cWe\u2019re standing on the shoulders of giants,\u201d and Rod was our giant. He was a visionary, leader, advocate, and friend. The SHPE of today – and tomorrow – is only possible because of the work he started almost 50 years ago.<\/p>

Rod was an engineer through and through. He believed that there was no problem that couldn\u2019t be solved with a methodical, actionable plan. And he approached the impetus of SHPE\u2019s mission with this exact attitude.<\/p>

It started in his garage in 1973, but he and the six other cohorts present knew what was possible. It was obvious that the Hispanic community had much to contribute to STEM fields, they just needed some guidance on how to break into the mainly white-male dominated industry. A national organization dedicated to bridging the gap between Hispanics and STEM would do just that.<\/p>

But what would become the largest nationwide Hispanic STEM association, began rather tediously.<\/p>

\u201cWe had a roster of all the engineers in California. And we went through it and picked out the Spanish surnames and sent them a solicitation. There were about 500 on the list, and we got 50 to join. That was the beginning.\u201d Rod reminisced. It was not a glamorous origin, but again, it was a methodical, actionable plan. Exactly what Rod intended.<\/p>

In 1974, SHPE was officially incorporated, its office listed as a P.O. box in Los Angeles. Garcia served as the first president, and focused on establishing SHPE\u2019s first collegiate chapters.<\/p>

Nearly a decade later, SHPE began professionalizing its operations, and in 1982, Rod became the first Executive Director. He held that position for 7 more years. In that time, SHPE grew and regionalized its chapters, giving more power and consideration to local needs while using it to inform national governance and direction. As SHPE\u2019s membership grew, so did its influence and focus on leadership. Members testified on Capitol Hill and NILA was formed. Rod was the driving force behind it all – methodical, logical, following that plan.<\/p>