116: Housing and Funding in Master’s Programs with Christina V. Rodriguez

Dra. Yvette Martinez-Vu

Welcome, everyone to the Grad School Femtoring Podcast. I am super excited because I have another wonderful guest today who is going to be talking to us all about housing and funding in masters programs. Our guest today is Cristina V. Rodriguez and she is a multicultural and equity minded marketer and educator with a commitment to creating equitable opportunities for women of color in business, housing, and academia.

Dra. Yvette Martinez-Vu

Christina received her bachelor's degree in Latino Latina studies from San Francisco State University and then went on to receive her master's degree MBA in particular, with an emphasis in marketing at Notre Dame de Namur University. She is currently pursuing her Doctorate in Educational Leadership, and provides 15 plus years of experience with marketing in the San Francisco Bay area. So welcome to the podcast. Christina.

Christina V. Rodriguez

Whatup. Thank you, Doctora Yvette.. Thank you for creating space for me and Latinas with Masters.

Dra. Yvette Martinez-Vu

It's so funny because I was thinking about it. I was like, oh, shit, her platform is Latinas with masters and I don't have a master's degree.

Christina V. Rodriguez

Listen, if I knew that I don't need a master's to get a PhD. I would have skipped that route too girl, but we could talk about that.

Dra. Yvette Martinez-Vu

All right. So um, I'd love for you to get started by sharing a little more about yourself, your background for folks who maybe haven't heard about you and just a little more about your personal and professional trajectory?

Christina V. Rodriguez

Absolutely. Every time everybody asks me that, like, where do I start? Okay,

Dra. Yvette Martinez-Vu

I know, I'm excited.

Christina V. Rodriguez

Okay, let's see what I can come up with here. Um, so I am a daughter of immigrants. I'm actually born and raised in San Francisco Bay area. My parents immigrated here from Nicaragua during the late 70s, you know, during the Nicaragua revolution war, and I am first generation to attend and graduate college. I am a mother of two and a dog mom, I'd like to throw in my Chihuahua frijol, aka bean. Yes, he's brown. Like my daughter says she's Latina with Masters brown.

Christina V. Rodriguez

And let's see, I know you said my academic journey. But yeah, it took me 10 years to graduate with my bachelor's degree, I did start off at a community college and I had multiple gap years because I didn't know if education was for me. And then I had I remember I was working at a bank. And they told me, you know that I couldn't get a particular position because I didn't have a bachelor's degree. And so then that was a reminder of like, this is going to be the last time that I get denied of a job just because I don't have a degree. So that motivated me to like hustle and grind.

Christina V. Rodriguez

And so then I got my bachelor's in Latino Studies from SF State, I did wanted to transition into like immigration, which is why I kind of fell in love with Latino Studies, because I got to learn a lot about, you know, Latino America and our culture and just different migration patterns. And then, but I was working in housing at the time, and housing was opening all of these opportunities. And so then I continued with the housing, career path. And I decided, you know what, let me go back and get my masters. And so I got my master's degree in marketing, which I'll discuss more when you asked me more questions.

Christina V. Rodriguez

And then I was like, let's go get a doctorate degree, right. And so I really felt that with what was happening. Definitely what happened with George Floyd really elevated just my appetite for learning and be like, what the fuck am I doing? Like, I want to change, I want disruption, like what's happening, and it sucks that it took a man's life for us to end a pandemic, for us to reimagine and reevaluate, you know, the things that we want to invest in. But I definitely feel like that was a blessing, because it really, you know, changed my perspective on so many levels, right, as a mother from the way that our children are educated in this system, to the way just my own academic journey, like, oh, that's not normal. Oh, that's a microaggression. Okay, cool. Like now I know.

Christina V. Rodriguez

And then, um, and the things that we deal with, you know, as a woman of color in, in, in corporate America, so there's a lot of reevaluating that I did and then I created Latinas with Masters as a result of it. So I know there's a big like, intro of myself, but literally, this is like the raw authentic self of me. It's like I'm an open book, and I'm here to kind of say like, enough was enough, you know, it doesn't have to be hard for you to achieve your dreams. I'm not saying that you have to have a degree to be successful. But what I'm saying is that if you do choose that path, then you have like a whole group gang of Latinos, Latinas, you know, whoever your support group is, you know, to support you in that journey, you know, and so that's really what Latinas with Masters is about.

Dra. Yvette Martinez-Vu

That's, your story is so incredible. I got chills just hearing about about your trajectory. And I love that in many ways it is non traditional. Because that's kind of one of the, I guess, overarching threads that comes up in conversations. And my podcast is like folks carving their own path and the folks kind of developing their own timelines and doing things according to what works best for them. So whether that means taking time off taking a gap year, gaining some work experience, like you name it, you've had that as well.

Dra. Yvette Martinez-Vu

I know we're here to talk about, about funding and about housing and master's programs. But I actually, I'm very curious, because you said that you you got your MBA, but then you decided to pursue a PhD. So you, you mentioned that there in the incidence of, of just the George Floyd incident and other just mass killings and blatant, like, acts of terrorism and racism, was that the catalyst for you to go on and get a PhD? Because that's not the usual story that I hear when folks say they want to get a PhD. Usually, it's, oh, I want to get a career in x. That's why I get a PhD. Or oh, I always love to read books. And you know, moving on to a PhD was the next step. So it's just I want to hear a little bit more about that.

Christina V. Rodriguez

Absolutely. I feel like every, every academic path that I had, I feel like you your purpose and your why changes, right? At first, when I got my bachelor's, it was like, oh, I'm the first you know, like, I gotta get a bachelor's degree. You know, Latinos are not, we don't unfortunately, you know, have high numbers in graduating, right. And so I wanted to kind of check that box. And then when I decided to get my master's, it was because a resident where I was managing an apartment complex was like, no, you are a business woman. Like you manage a multimillion dollar asset. You do budgets, you do training, you do marketing, that is a business woman. And I was like, man, I always consider myself like an employee.

Dra. Yvette Martinez-Vu

Like, I would have thought you were done at that point. Like, I got my MBA, I know about business, I'm gonna go on and start my, my Latinas with Masters, you know, I don't know what you call it, like, empire.

Christina V. Rodriguez

Ya, no girl, I'm telling you, I thought, um, you know, when I got my master's, I was working in housing again, I transitioned to the corporate level, and I was doing marketing. And then I was like, something was still missing. I felt like yeah, everything that I learned with my master's degree and me and marketing and me doing the work and marketing, I was like, okay, cool. Like, I see it as an advancement. But then I'm like, something is missing. And so I did apply for PhDs, I actually applied to USC, and I got denied. And I did a little bit of a Kim Kardashian cry, like quick minute, you know, I was like, you know what, maybe this is not for me, maybe you know, God, I don't know. I'll see what God takes me, right.

Christina V. Rodriguez

And then I applied to Mills College, which is right in my backyard, right. But I ended up doing it with intention. I was like, okay, what did I not have in graduate school that I want to have now as a PhD student, and that was a sense of belonging. In my graduate program, my professor didn't look like me or you, my colleagues didn't look like me, or you at times, I was the only Latina. You know, in the space. I felt a lot of imposter syndrome. I didn't have that growing up in San Francisco didn't have that growing up in SF State or, you know, having a Latino Studies, you know, major, but to answer your question, it was, I applied to Mills College, and I didn't hear back from them, right. And at first, I was just kind of like, okay, well, what else can I look for? I'm the type person where like, I definitely put all my eggs in one bucket type of thing. So I applied to Mills College, and then I didn't hear back and then and then I heard back from them.

Christina V. Rodriguez

But then even though even though I got accepted, I was like, I don't know, like the time commitment. I'm a mom, I'm working full time. You know, I feel like everybody was quick to tell me why I shouldn't get it. And then I was listening to like, I think I should get it then. Because if you're telling me that I shouldn't get it. I feel like I should get it though. Like I don't know what, I'm like the opposite. Right? Then George Floyd happened. And then I was like, you know what, fuck that. I'm a go to Mills College. I'm gonna go see what this educational leadership is about. Obviously, like, we're in a pandemic, our kids are learning online. I'm seeing my kids struggle. I was like, there needs to be change up in here. I don't know what it is. I don't know. You know what the answer is, but I'm going to learn about it and I have a big ass mouthpiece and I'm gonna see what I can do about it.

Christina V. Rodriguez

So that's why I created Latinos with Masters because I wanted to create an online community, for Latinas, and woman of color to look at one another and be like, oh, she looks like me. And she works in healthcare. Oh, she looks like me. She works in the financial district. Or she looks like me and she works in housing or all of these you know, industries. Because the higher that the higher we get, the less you see us unfortunately, right. And so that's how Latinas with Masters came along. And it was just to share, you know, my past experiences, your past experiences, but then also just to have Latina empowerment and sense of belonging, as I'm also learning and growing and healing, now that I know these words of intergenerational trauma, you know, and so, and that's, you know, the information that I share on on the platform.

Christina V. Rodriguez

It's my experience and your experience, and you know, anything that, you know, people are willing to share to help others, you know, because I'm a firm believer that just because it was hard for me, it doesn't mean it has to be hard for everybody else, you know. And so, I feel like we have to kind of, like, stop that mentality of crabs in a box, right? Like, I see, and gatekeeping. You know what, it was hard for me, so I can't let you succeed, because you did it way easier. I'm not here to do that, you know?

Dra. Yvette Martinez-Vu

Yea, that's, I mean, that's complete BS to me, too. I feel like I too, am sometimes too much of an open book, and sometimes a bit too transparent. But it was because that's what I was missing in my own kind of educational trajectory. So I'm, we're here to talk about housing and funding. And I feel like you're you might be I couldn't, I can't think of someone better to talk about this, because of your experience working in housing. And I'm wondering, you know, what your thoughts are, in particular about housing in graduate school. So thinking about housing, thinking, and I'm thinking about from the perspective of being a student who's interested in grad school, or maybe who has applied because some of them are hearing back getting interviews, soon, they'll find out if they get in.

Dra. Yvette Martinez-Vu

And I, in my conversations with students, I find that they often don't think about that as closely as their funding package, for instance, but it has a big relationship to the funding package, especially when you're taking into account cost of living. And so I would just love your thoughts on you know, if you were advising a student, who's thinking about grad school, how would you have this conversation with them about housing and about its kind of relationship with funding?

Christina V. Rodriguez

Absolutely. You know, just like when you apply for a job, and you relocate, I mean, housing needs to be considered right. So I don't see why graduate school college right, would be any different. And I will tell you right now, me working in housing, I can tell you that they are not thinking about other industries are are really the relationship that a prospect, right is what they call them, or a future resident has when making a decision, that's a decision making process, right? And then you have higher education, you know, accepting students and not really caring or discussing, where are you going to, you know, live as you're continuing your education.

Christina V. Rodriguez

So, we have two industries that don't feel like they intersect with one another, but they absolutely do, because you can't accept a graduate program, if you don't know where you're going to live. And I can't reserve an apartment if I don't know where I'm gonna go to school at. And so why these two industries feel like they don't belong together, I don't know. But what I advise students or, you know, individuals who are interested in you know, advancing their higher education or looking for housing. You know, it's definitely look at the benefits of, you know, either commuting or you know, being closed by because I was definitely the commuter student, I did drive. I never had an opportunity to live on campus. And now knowing what I know, now, I probably wouldn't choose to, and the reason being is because when you're a freshman and a sophomore, yes, you have the opportunity to live on in dorms, right? And you can have financial aid cover those costs.

Christina V. Rodriguez

But once you become a junior, it's like you're given this piece of paper, most likely outdated, to say, oh, these are all of the nearby, you know, apartments that are renting. And there's no type of like relationship or partnership to want to, you know, you know, offer any type of housing, you know, opportunities for them. But I literally feel like that step between a sophomore and a junior, it's like a vaya con dios type of vibe, like, here's this paper, go with God, you're insane. And then as a student, you're like, Oh, my God, where am I going to live? How much is the deposit? How much is this and all this other stuff? Right? And so there's that portion of it.

Christina V. Rodriguez

But then as a graduate student, you're almost like in a different in a different level professionally, and you know, if you have a family as well, right, your finances are different, right? So when I went to graduate school, you know, I still lived in my apartment, but I had more expenses right? I'm now a mother, a new mom. I actually ended up getting pregnant during graduate school. I had prepartum depression, like there was a lot of things that that I was experiencing, and then oh shit I gotta make sure though that my payments on time because I don't want to have, you know, be evicted or go through housing insecurity. And so those are real issues that everyone deals with every day. And so what I decided to do is change that mindset. I'm here to be like the ally of housing. And so then I started providing housing education workshops, to college students right to universities and say, hey, I'm here to like, give you the basic one on one of like, how to rent an apartment. Because you'd be surprised people are like, wait, they need like a deposit? What's a deposit? What? Oh, my gosh, yes.

Dra. Yvette Martinez-Vu

Can we talk about that a little bit. Because, yeah, again, I've been like femtoring for 10 plus years, and I, and I was a student too, like were, you don't realize that you have to save up for the move to go to grad school, and then all of a sudden, it hits you the summer before you're like, oh, shit, I gotta get a job and save up because I have to pay for my flights. And to get my shit over there. And for this, you know, security deposit, and you know, the first month's rent or whatever it is, you know. So, anyway, we'll talk more about that.

Christina V. Rodriguez

I know, those are all expenses that are not considered, you know, when attending graduate school, I feel like it's just like, books, tuition, right? The commute or whatever it is, right? It's always academic based, but then you're like, Hold up a second, like food on my table, a roof over my head, and my car payment, insurance. Like there's other things that you have to consider too. And so yeah, I mean, I knew a lot of people that were transitioning housing in the middle of their graduate program, to the I gotta move out back to my parents, because I can't afford to pay graduate school on my own anymore, so they're helping me. Or I have to find another apartment or another house, because my landlord, you know, raised my rent, and I can no longer afford it. Or I have to move farther towards San Jose or to whichever were the rents a little bit cheaper. But I'm going to be commuting over to the, you know, the graduate school because I can't afford to live in the area where my school is located. I mean, girl, I can tell you a million stories.

Dra. Yvette Martinez-Vu

I could too because I spent five years at UCSB. And if you know about Santa Barbara and their housing crisis, it's a whole mess. It's a whole mess. And, I heard I heard, to be frank unethical, what the university is doing with admitting so many students and not being able to provide housing for them. I have like my own experience with a family member of mine who got into grad program at UCSB, and then got housing and then the landlord it was a month to month thing, which you know, like maybe you shouldn't have done a month to month lease. At the last minute like within, you know, two months of living there asked him to move out. Because they were going to sell the house and had to find housing and was insecure housing like in a hotel for a couple of weeks. It's just a whole mess. And that's one example of like, multiple situations of students that couldn't find housing and got it only got further compounded with the pandemic, with folks working from home and now they're asking them to come back. And now it's hybrid, and it's just a whole mess.

Christina V. Rodriguez

Yeah, housing insecurity was always there, girl, it was just a pandemic made it more made up more than much in your face, right? You couldn't, it's like inequities in education, they've always been there. But the pandemic was like, oh, okay, like, you know, and so, yeah, seeing both sides, you know, working in housing, and then also, you know, being a student, I mean, thankfully, I own my home, I own my home prior to all this happening. But I was dealing with the same shit girl. And I worked in housing, the only difference is that a landlord couldn't mess with me because I knew my rights. You know, I'm saying, so just like, the second you mailed this, this needs to be 35 days, not 30 days, you have to email this to me. You know, like, those small things make a big difference. And so that's included in my housing education workshop is not only renters 101, but it's like, hey, you know, your rights as a California tenant, you know, certain counties are like pro tenant and then pro landlord, depending on where you live, because you have rent control. I mean, girl, listen, we can go deep, I can go straight up like games where I'm just like, I want people to at least know where to go to get this information.

Dra. Yvette Martinez-Vu

You know, where can they go? I have I have listeners all over the US. But I have a good amount of folks in California, because that's where I was based before. And if they're curious, they're like, w-ell, I know that I'm gonna go to grad school in California, and they're, you know, haven't been on their own before. They're learning how to adult. What are what's a good place, the starting point for them to learn their basic housing rights?

Christina V. Rodriguez

Yeah, so unfortunately, there isn't anything really by itself to say like, oh, I'm gonna go and learn about it, right. Unfortunately, is when something happens to you that you're like, Oh, that was released, right? What I did when I did, like the law, right? It's like a law. But you can go to consumeraffairs.gov. That is where it has information about the security deposits, and, you know, landlords needing to make repairs in your unit. Right? Those are the areas that you know. Um, yeah, so that would be the section, you kind of have to look at it by code, or look at it through sections.

Christina V. Rodriguez

Another great source. Oh, my God, I'm blanking out. Oh, a rent board. So if you live in a rent control county, right, like San Francisco, or LA, or Oakland or Berkeley, you know, like, there's certain areas where there's rent control, certain things applied to them, like California tenant law, but then because it's rent control, there's like a whole nother beast of like rent control board laws. And so that is the rental increase, right? Also repairs you're gonna unit, there's also with how a landlord can communicate with you, or even if they want to evict you, I mean, those are there to protect both the landlord and the tenant. But if you know what your rights are, then you'll know when a landlord is trying to like get over your head and trying to kick you out, because they're trying to, quote unquote, renovate the unit. But it's really just to get a higher rent, because they know they can't increase your rent as a long term resident. So those are the two places that I would recommend. But if you can, I'm sure there's a Consumer Affairs. gov website in your state, or if you have like a rent control, county, just look, you know, you can Google redboard in and then whatever your county is in that state, and then I'm pretty sure it will show up.

Dra. Yvette Martinez-Vu

One thing I would add to that is to always read your, your contract closely to oh, well, because I feel like not enough people read their terms closely.

Christina V. Rodriguez

I know I had to do that document. It's like 35 pages, a lot of people are like, why am I you know, signing this, because unfortunately, this happened to someone. And now it's a law, you know, I'm saying so if anything is to your benefit. But I the way that I would do it is I was you know, I'm a very ethical person. So I would literally legit be like, this is your lease agreement, these are their terms, this is your rent, this is when rent is due, it's late after this day, look at this, like I will spend like you need to, like, make time for me to go over the lease agreement.

Christina V. Rodriguez

But some people are like, I don't have time. And so they sign it. And then they come back with like, I didn't know that. And then it sucks, because then I gotta be like, it's in your lease agreement, though, remember, like you didn't have time to read it. Or I've worked with people that are just like, here, it's your responsibility to read the lease, right. And so then a lot of people in the housing industry, it's like, I don't get paid to interpret the lease agreement to you, that is your responsibility as a resident to know what you're signing, right, which, to a certain extent, I agree. But it's also my responsibility to tell you what my rules and regulations are, if I'm the landlord renting the apartment, right, or on behalf of the landlord, so that's the way that I would do it.

Christina V. Rodriguez

And to be honest with you, like residents that I've had in contact with, the residents would have come to me and be like, Christina told me tadadadada right. Because they knew upfront that I was honest with them. But out here, the so and so didn't tell me about this. And then my head, I'm like, typical, so and so like. If you just took the time to just, you know, explain to them we wouldn't be in a situation because I don't. I've learned, you know, at an early age that anytime you deal with anybody's money, anybody's home, anyone's family, it's very personal, you know, and that is dealing with someone's livelihood, you know. And so I just wanted to make sure that they understood what they were signing and felt comfortable where they were going to live six months, 12 months, I don't care if it's a month, you are going to know what what the rules and regulations are.

Dra. Yvette Martinez-Vu

I'm curious if your advice stands kind of true and remains the same for just kind of general advice are for a master's program or for PhD program. Because at least in my experience, when I was in a doctoral program, I was able to take advantage of subsidized family housing. And it was nice, because you had I believe, at the time up to six years that you could be there. And, you know, the rent was also kind of controlled. So we didn't have any, like major increases in our rent, I wouldn't have been able to afford living in that area otherwise. And so I'm curious, like, how might this conversation shift in any way, when you're thinking about housing in grad school, or housing in a Master's program? Master's programs tend to be one, two, sometimes three years. It's not as long of a period.

Christina V. Rodriguez

Yeah, I mean, you gotta think about the demographics of who subsidized housing and affordable housing was built for. Unfortunately, they weren't built for someone with a master's degree making $100,000 a year, you know what I'm saying. Two, the government, they're like, you make way too much money you can afford market rent. Realistically, we can't afford market rent, because you got to make like at least 120 I think one 150 in San Francisco to even afford a three, four thousand dollar rent, which even that's outrageous, right?

Christina V. Rodriguez

So the demographics are the people that are in subsidized housing that qualify for it, it is, you know, very low and low moderate income, right. So you're talking about, you know, an individual or family that makes under 30,000, or under 50,000. Every county has certain, you know, income limits, of course, it's higher in San Jose, right in Silicon Valley, than if there were like, somewhere in Oakland, right. But and that's in general across the state. And so it's hard, I haven't unless you have a rent control building, or unless you knew somebody that can kind of hook you up with affordable housing. That's the only time I've heard where, you know, someone has lived in those programs while a graduate student.

Christina V. Rodriguez

But unfortunately, because now we're professionals, right, and we're making more money, the goal is to make more money, right so we can afford, you know, the spaces, and unfortunately, we don't qualify for affordable housing, like I wouldn't qualify for affordable housing, you know, even if it's just one income, um, for four people to them, they're like. So, I mean, I had those conversations with residents, and it sucks, because they're like, hold on, I'm trying to like, not be poor. And I'm trying to make more money, and I'm trying to do overtime, so I can put food on the table. But you're telling me now that I overqualified for this program, because I'm just trying to basically survive, right? Believe me, I've had those conversations. And I'm like, it sucks, because I agree with the resident, but it's not my program, it's the county's program that the landlord is participating in. And for for housing purposes, and for legal purposes, we have to abide by those rules. And so a lot of people think that we can just, you know, give anybody housing, you know, there's also regulations that landlords have to follow for the fact that they're given, you know, these low affordable rates for residents.

Dra. Yvette Martinez-Vu

Yeah. I mean, you make a really good point about how, as there is this kind of class mobility, and folks kind of work their way up, you kind of get stuck, because you're making more, but then your expenses get higher, or cost of living is higher, or inflation goes up. And all of a sudden, you're still, you know, barely making ends meet working paycheck to paycheck. And you don't feel like you're kind of like, you know, you no longer have access to the other resources that you had when, when you were kind of have a different income bracket. So I, I get that.

Dra. Yvette Martinez-Vu

And it's something for students to kind of keep in mind as they're navigating their master's programs, because once they are in those degrees, once they have those advanced degrees and get those jobs there, they might find themselves in that position. Anything else you want to share, when it comes to funding in particular, like funding for master's programs is a big topic that comes up, at least for me, in Grad School, Femtoring. Folks are constantly asking me and one of the first things I say is that unfortunately, there's not as much funding for master's programs as there are for instance, for doctoral programs, but you can like I have seen cases where folks have been able to fund their master's programs, at least partially through a scholarship or almost all of it through TAing but that's not always the case. I'm curious about maybe your experience in a master's program, or just anything you want to share about kind of how to fund your master's degree.

Christina V. Rodriguez

Yeah, I feel like that is definitely the number one question I always get with Latinas with Masters is how to fund it, you know, and unfortunately, I wish I had like a simple answer a simple tada, like, yes, this is this is the route to do it, right.

Dra. Yvette Martinez-Vu

Just apply to this and you're good.

Christina V. Rodriguez

Cool, don't even trip about it, it'll come to you, right? No, but I feel like you know, man, I wish we can hold more employers and more. What you call it the financial aid more accountable, you know, there needs to be more, you know, tuition reimbursement, tuition programs, you know, especially if we are advancing our career to get into this industry, right, you should be able to help me fund my education, I'm investing back into your business.

Dra. Yvette Martinez-Vu

And there's no guarantee that you're gonna get that coveted like, six figure job after you get your Masters. So that's the part that gets to me is like, okay, so you're having, you're expecting that all these people take out these exorbitant amount of loans, but you're not guaranteeing a job and then what.

Christina V. Rodriguez

No, for sure. I've I've heard the same like fellowships. You know, tuition reimbursement. There are certain jobs that definitely will help you with you know, with your tuition if you commit to a year, either during your program or after your program. I've heard a lot of those. I've heard people like I have loans, but I only take out exactly what my tuition is, you know, I don't use the remainder different to you use for my book expense or my housing expense, you know, which I know can be tough. So I've heard that as well.

Christina V. Rodriguez

So when you graduate, you know, you're only really paying back truly the cost of your degree versus like the amount that financial aid approved you for. Right. I know it's hard scholarships, but I feel like anybody can say scholarship, but the whole thing is like applying for it, qualifying for it, you know, it's a whole other job too, it's not just applying, it's like being awarded also about it, you know? Yeah, I feel like, yeah, I feel like this is something I'm constantly researching. I'm constantly just trying to share information as I come along.

Christina V. Rodriguez

I really hope that President Biden, you know, cancels our student loan debt. I know, right? I think there's like a meme, or there's like, a thing going viral where, like, you put money on the floor, and then you put, like, you know, like, saying, and I saw somebody put like money like dollar bills, and it says, cancel or loans, or like, Biden cancel our loans, but they're on the floor, just hella, like, you know, like, now I'm like, God, I'm patiently waiting, but it's like too patiently. But you bring up a very good point, you know, as students, if you think about it, when you turn 18, right. You're not qualified, you know, to buy a car or to buy a home when you don't have enough credit, or car to, but somehow, I'm qualified for this, like, 20, 30 thousand loan, student loan, you're on saying like, how what's the difference between a student loan and like, a 30,000 loan. It's still a loan, a loan is a loan, you know, I'm saying a contract is a contract. And so that's the thing that I, you know.

Dra. Yvette Martinez-Vu

There's no financial literacy, there's no, the personal finances required. And even during my time, actually, now, I think they do require that students like, take this module or whatever, where they learn about what loans are. But when I was an undergrad, I never got that I didn't get a single word from anyone telling me what it meant, what to sign, what I was signing off on, I didn't even know how much exactly I was.

Dra. Yvette Martinez-Vu

It was terrible. I mean, it's, it's shameful for me to acknowledge, like how little I knew, and then even more shameful for the institutions to take advantage of individuals like myself, and like so many others who have come after us. So yeah, I mean, I get what you're saying. And I feel like it's just completely unjust and unfair, to a whole kind of, a whole set of like, low income working class, folks who are just trying, trying to find their way out. And it disproportionately affects people of color, did it especially it disproportionately affects Black folks, too.

Christina V. Rodriguez

Oh, for sure. Yeah. That's why there is a new law that went into place that before you buy a home, like, for example, when I bought a home, a certain percentage of like, my monthly payment was considered towards my debt. Right? So hypothetically, you owe 200,000, right? Whatever your monthly payment is, that's how much they're saying that your student loan debt is right. But now they have it worth like your loan is say you're paying 200 bucks a month, then that they're only calculating, you know, a year's worth of that 200 dollar payment that's considered your student loan payment debt. Right. So instead of 200,000, it could be you know, 20,000, or 12,000, you know, whatever that amount is.

Christina V. Rodriguez

And so, there's, you know, there's, and because of that, what you said, you know, students of color are the ones that, unfortunately, are the ones hit the most when it comes to homeownership, right, because we have more student loan debt, you know, we don't have you know, our parents helping us out or paying for our tuition. And so that's something that I try to educate people on a lot is just, you know, to become homeowners, homeowners as well, if you have student loan debt, you know, make sure that when you talk to your mortgage broker, that encounter, at least in California, well know if it's Biden, I'm pretty sure it's federal, but just to make sure the way, the way that they're calculating your student loan debt is not affecting your overall.

Dra. Yvette Martinez-Vu

Debt to income ratio. Yeah. Yeah, that makes a lot of sense. And I'm glad that you're doing that because that's, I feel like that could be a whole other topic is like homeownership like that. I for the longest I didn't think it was even feasible for me to own a home. I did purchase a home in 2020 and then sold it a year later, because of life happening, but it didn't seem conceivable just when I thought about my partner and I and our student debt and where we came from and being like first gen homeowners that just didn't seem like a possibility, but it's good that you're mentioning In that there are pathways towards homeownership, even if you do have student debt.

Dra. Yvette Martinez-Vu

Yeah. Um, okay, so kind of, I know, we're getting close to the time. And I want to make sure too, that you cover, you know, everything that you wanted to share when it comes to housing funding. And also, I want to hear a little bit more about Latinas with Master's. And I know you kind of mentioned it earlier. But I want to hear more about like how that got started, and maybe kind of where you're at with it now. And like the future of Latinas with Masters, just because I think I want to see more platforms like that, you know, I want to collaborate in some way shape or form, I think that a lot of us are doing kind of parallel type of work, where we're trying to help others out, help our community. And I think it's important, you know, to share, kind of share about each other's work. So tell us a little bit more about Latinas with Masters?

Christina V. Rodriguez

Absolutely. So, um, you know, as I said, earlier, I created Latinas with Masters because I was navigating, or I was going to start navigating the journey of, you know, PhD and doctorate. And I wanted to create a space for, you know, Latinas, or women of color, who really everyone but I feel like that was more like my focus group. You know, if you're an undergrad, and you want it to get into a graduate program, you know, here's this information, or, hey, you're in a graduate program now, and you're going through some shit, and you're just like, am I the only one type of thing. Or hey, I already have my master's, but I want to continue with my doctorate program in a program or I have or am, I am a doctora right and this is what I can share back to my community. So those are kind of like the three pillars I like to call it.

Christina V. Rodriguez

But it honestly, you know, Latinas with Master's is more than just a degree. It's literally a community beyond academia. And that's where I touch the business and the housing portion, right, we talk about housing, through academia. And then I talk about businesses as well. I love that you do that? Yeah, start your own business, you know, corporate America, you know, like negotiate your salary interview, what microaggressions look like in the workplace, like all that stuff, you know, things that I'm here basically to be, you know, your home girl that business school, graduate school is not going to tell you, you're I'm saying because I we already went through this shit.

Christina V. Rodriguez

And so if I knew what I knew back then, yeah, yeah, I'll have a different life is a different story. But the reality is, is I'm here now. And so then I can definitely share those, you know, challenges that I've had. So you can have a better, you know, opportunity in whatever it is that you want to aspire, you know. And so, man, where Latinas with Master is now I actually started it because I was talking to my husband and I was like, I want to create like, you know, marketing by nature. I'm like, I want to create this online thing. Like I already have the colors I have this I have that. And then I'm like something would like Latina ads or something would like masters but I don't know what it could be. And my husband's like, Latina with Master.

Dra. Yvette Martinez-Vu

Sometimes the most obvious is the thing, is like, for me, I was like, What do I do? I femtor. What do I even talk about? Grad school. Exactly like that girl. I was like, there you go, and I did it. Clealry, like it's a hit because it was, like 10k? Or who knows? You probably have like 15k or even the list is growing and followers on your social media. There is clearly a need.

Christina V. Rodriguez

Yeah, my husband likes to feel like he's like my executive producer over there. Right? So silent co founder, right? Latinas with Masters, but oh my god, now that I'm in my program, and now it's like, I'm getting all of these messages of like, damn, where were you when I was going to graduate school and we're like, I wish I had someone like you or like these women that we're spotlighting in graduate school, or like, hey, I'm been going through this bullshit, share this because I don't want anybody else to go through it. I mean, I am getting all types of vibes, right?

Christina V. Rodriguez

So when I'm listening, and I'm like, okay, cool, who is, you know, academia or your job or anybody to tell you to validate your experience, you know, like, I'm also here to be that like Latina empowerment to be like, to who though like to whose validations to whose expectations we have to meet, right? Yes, I'm promoting that, you know, if you want to get a graduate degree, and if you want to be the expert in your field, yes, it is a piece of paper at the end of the day, and yes, it's like, you know, promoting, you know, white academic spaces. I'm not denying that what I'm saying is that there needs to be more people that look like us in these spaces. So we can interrogate all that bullshit that we're navigating so my kids and your kids don't have to do that go through that that's that's what I'm advocating here.

Dra. Yvette Martinez-Vu

I mean, white supremacy is everywhere. So it's kind of hard to get away from it whether it's in academia or outside.

Christina V. Rodriguez

But um, but yeah, where Latinas with Masters is going to the future oh my god, girl like I created a podcast with cuz a lot of your life, no, can I be a podcast guest. Or like I want you to share your journey or someone.

Dra. Yvette Martinez-Vu

I just started listening to you by the way. I was like, I like her.

Christina V. Rodriguez

Listen, I record and I hit send and I'm like vaya con dios. I don't do, it is what it is like, this is what you get right? But man oh my god I see myself in so many spaces like oh Latinas with Masters like I definitely want to start publishing people's work whether that's their capstone their thesis or like hey, this is my journey as a Nicaraguense that is first generation like, it doesn't have to be just an academia. It's just like our stories in general, right? I'm going to be starting the membership soon with Latinas with Masters and hopefully getting more speakers and more partnerships with you know, companies that want to, you know, promote or, you know, just advance you know, higher education. Oh my god, girl, like if people were to ask me like, What do you see yourself? As you know, like, what is Latinas with Masters? I honestly it's I say like, it's like Issa Rae meets Cardi B. You're I'm saying like, people is what? Like, I'm trying to have Latinas with Masters be.

Dra. Yvette Martinez-Vu

OMG. That would be my BFF cuz it's like, I got the awkwardness. And then that wild side.

Christina V. Rodriguez

Yeah, there's hood me and then there's evolved me. And then there's like, oh, well, yeah, it's just us showing up authentically who we are in the space in these spaces, to be honest with you. And that's what Latinas with Masters is about. I'm all about diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging. I'm sure we've all heard that a million times. But it's just like, I ask those questions during job interviews, I ask those questions when I'm helping someone look for graduate programs, you're I'm saying like, I'm asking the tough questions, right. And I can tell a calculated PR response, or I can tell, you know, the hey, we're not perfect, but we're trying. It's all about transparency to me, you know, so, um, yeah.

Christina V. Rodriguez

And then, you know, just currently I do offer graduate advising services. So someone's interested in getting into graduate school, and they're like, hey, can you look over my personal statement? Or can you help me kind of fine tune my resume? Or like, I'm considering these colleges? What do you think if you want my opinion, you're, I'm saying, like, I'm going to be batting an eye for you, you're, I'm saying like, okay, what are you looking forward to? That program doesn't have it, you're, I'm saying, I'm not here to like sugarcoat it, I'm really here to tell you. Because that's a lot of money, you're going to be investing, right? And the lesson you want to be is sitting in a class and be like, damn, I hate this program, or damn, this is not what I want to do.

Christina V. Rodriguez

And if you do come to that realization, like I said, in my reflection, then then don't continue. You know, I'm saying, give yourself time to, like, reflect and and be like, I'm gonna go to a different program, or like, you know, what, I tried graduate school, and it's not for me, and that's okay. You know, that's the part where I'm trying to, like, encompass here is like, don't try to meet other people's expectations with your own expectations of whatever that you're, I'm saying. So, yeah, girl, I feel like I'm just like, I'm just a cheerleader. I'm just like, the home girl. I'm gonna be like, I'm gonna tell you, you know how it is, you know, and, and then you make the final decision. You know? Like, I'm just here to support you in whatever way that I can.

Dra. Yvette Martinez-Vu

I love that. Yeah. Okay. I'm gonna ask for your links after this. So that way we can put them on the show notes. Okay, two last questions. Second to last question that I have for you is any final words of advice for my listeners who are predominantly first gen students of color?

Christina V. Rodriguez

Advice for what school, life?

Dra. Yvette Martinez-Vu

And I will say life because everything you've covered.

Christina V. Rodriguez

All that talk, right? You know, to be honest with you one thing that really helped me kind of evolve as like, having a growth mindset is like not to sweat the small stuff. Seriously, like, learn how to choose your battles. I was on a battlefield girl, I'm talking about every fight came my way. We were talking about that.

Dra. Yvette Martinez-Vu

Hold up. Can you tell us what's your sun sign?

Christina V. Rodriguez

So I'm a Capricorn sun sign dammit. You know what, we had this we had a discussion in my class one day because I said something like this.

Dra. Yvette Martinez-Vu

I'm like where's that fieriness coming from.

Christina V. Rodriguez

Yes and my professor's, like, what's your sign? And I was like, Capricorn, you're an Earth. Okay? All right. Okay, um, like, what is happening here? What's my sun rising? What? I was like, okay, there were like your homework next class is to bring me your sun sign, and your moon sign and your chart. You got to know what time you were born. You got to know when. I was born on a Wednesday at 12:51. Don't sweat the small stuff seriously, there's a book on it, if you have the chance to buy the book, buy the book. And there's what I love is that there's different versions, like, don't sweat the small stuff in love, don't sweat the small stuff in the workplace. And it gives you examples.

Christina V. Rodriguez

And I literally was like, Oh, that makes so much sense. You know, I'm not saying like, don't stand up for your rights, you know, definitely, if it's something that's unethical, or that doesn't, you know, meet your values, you know, stuff like that, definitely fight for those but certain things. I'm like, You know what, I'm not gonna give him my energy today. Like, no, no, not today. And to be honest with you, those are the ones where I was just like, I'm so glad that I didn't, because it wasn't even worth it. Because you can't change a person, you know, I'm saying, so, that would be my advice is don't sweat the small stuff. Definitely pick and choose your battles. You know, and I honestly feel like you would you would definitely, you know, hopefully live a more purposeful life. You know what I'm saying.

Dra. Yvette Martinez-Vu

I love it. Okay, so I know a lot of folks listening to this are gonna, like, wanna just follow you support you right now. So how can folks reach you?

Christina V. Rodriguez

All right, all right. So you can holla at me, or connect with you or follow you? Yeah, me, email me. So I have a website, Latinaswithmasters.com that has more information about like, what I do and stuff like that. And then you can follow me on all social media platforms @latinaswithmasters. That's Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, oh my God, I feel like I gotta like, all of them, all the social media platforms, follow me there. And then you can also email me at Latinaswithmasters@gmail.com. That's more of like the general inbox that I have for stuff. I also have Latinas with Masters merch, I'll also be updating that as well. But, you know, I'm just like, just represent, you know, like, just a lot of people are like, I want to shirt, I need a hat, I need a beanie girl, my friend from the city or like, I need a hooded sweater, I'm like, okay, I gotta like, I gotta switch it up here. So. So I have all that, um, I mean.

Dra. Yvette Martinez-Vu

Let me know when you ship internationally.

Christina V. Rodriguez

I will personally ship you international, like my ship, my shipment warehouse does, but I will definitely give it a go, I will hook you up. In the podcasts, of course, are Latinas with Masters podcast, but definitely stay tuned, because I have a lot of partnerships in the works with big brands that you guys, you know, are just normally or not normally, but that are like, right now interacting with, you know, that you see on social media. And so, I'm so happy that these brands and platforms have reached out to me because we're definitely seeing the influence that Latinos with Masters have when it comes to the community and just representation. And so again, everything that I do is it is for the benefit of you guys, you know, and everybody that listens, and everybody that's coming up, like I'm here to, to, you know, to share the template of like, what this looks like, if you want to do what I'm doing, I'll help you too, you know, there's room for all of us. And to like come up and help each other.

Dra. Yvette Martinez-Vu

That's that growth mindset we all need more of that.

Christina V. Rodriguez

Listen, I wish I had that and I didn't have that and so I'm changing that, you know, instead of like dwelling on that or like letting that define me I'm like changing that, you know what I'm saying and so again that's just I'm telling you don't sweat the small stuff you just gotta get the move in.

Dra. Yvette Martinez-Vu

Well, thank you, thank you so much Christina for coming and sharing a wealth of knowledge information gems with our listeners I know that they gained a lot from it because I know I did. I really appreciate you and just taking the time to share space with us.

Christina V. Rodriguez

No thank you, thank you, Doctora Yvette, you're definitely going to be a podcast guest on Latinas with Masters. I'm trying to theme it out so now for season two because now I got guys reaching out talking about what's up with the guys we got masters too. Alright fine, I'll give you some love you know what I'm saying so. But yeah, no, definitely you'll definitely be a guest on my podcast as well.

Dra. Yvette Martinez-Vu

I'm looking forward to it. Thank you so much.