I was chosen as a Fulfillment Fund Scholar during my junior year at Carson High School.
At the time, I was an honors student who was involved in everything from the Interact Club to being the captain of the Pep Squad. I was also devastated by my father's recent passing from cancer. Before he passed, he'd directed me to use my extra class period to T.A. for the College Counselor. That's when I found out about the Fulfillment Fund.
At that time, the program was not as robust as it is now. I thought it was a scholarship program with "a lot of nice mentors." In the early stages of the program, I enjoyed bi-annual backyard bar-b-ques at Fulfillment Fund Founder Dr. Gary Gitnick's house, weekly mentoring conversations with Fulfillment Fund Program Manager Todd Mandel, and frequent exposure to cultural events, where I had the opportunity to interact with other Fulfillment Fund scholars. As a matter of fact, it was a series of conversations with Todd that helped sway my decision from attending one of the other eight schools I gained college acceptance into, and choose to become a UCLA Bruin.
I graduated from UCLA as a double-major in English and African-American Studies. I was immediately accepted into a prestigious intern program for the Department of Justice and began my foray into a career in law. After a year in Washington D.C., life circumstances brought me back home to Los Angeles, where I pursued my interests in student empowerment through literacy. I became a teacher while pursuing my Master's Degree in Education from CSU Dominguez Hills. Having taught at all levels of education, my goal now is to promote a quality education for all students.
Devery Rodgers received her doctorate degree in Education Leadership in May 2012 from the University of Southern California and has been appointed as the Fritz B. Burns Endowed Chair of Education and Director of Instructional Leadership at Mt. St. Mary's College, Los Angeles.
