Outstanding faculty: Nicole Rodriguez, PhD

Nicole Rodriguez, PhD, of the Munroe-Meyer Institute, will receive the Outstanding Mentor of Junior Faculty Award at the annual faculty meeting, which will be at 3 p.m. on Thursday, April 21. It will be held virtually via Zoom, and the passcode is 2021. 

Nicole Rodriguez, PhD

• Name: Nicole Rodriguez, PhD 
• Titles: Associate professor, integrated Center for Autism Spectrum Disorders; director, Applied Behavior Analysis Doctoral Program
• Joined UNMC: August 2011 
• Hometown: Miami, Florida

What are the greatest rewards of mentoring? 

I have been fortunate to have many mentors in my life — ones that I have been able to call on for advice at different times across different domains, people who have invested in me and guided me along the way.  

In my experience, the mentor-mentee relationship has generally developed organically. In fact, as a mentee, there has been only one time I can recall that I tried to formally request someone to act as my mentor. Their response was something along the lines of, "If this conversation is an indicator of what that would entail, then yes." This beautiful and inspiring person is someone I have come to adore and someone I often find myself trying to emulate.  

What I appreciate most about serving as a mentor for others is the opportunity to support and lift them, help them build confidence as well as succeed with their personal goals. Mostly, to pay it forward. I appreciate the opportunity to humanize successes, share my own mishaps, share what I have learned along the way (or what I still have to learn) and to grow my own skills.  

Describe a moment in your career when you realized you had picked the right occupation. 

I have been asked this question before, so I am going steal my previous response because it holds true. A friend of mine used to keep a McDonald's job application in his car. He ran his own business and would joke that if things ever got too stressful that he always had a back-up plan. As I reflected on what my back-up plan would be, which often involved some island in the Caribbean, I kept coming back to my same job. I would still want to do clinical work. I would still want to teach and mentor students, continue to ask meaningful questions through research, continue to serve our field in various way such as through editorial work. Before you know it, I end up with my same exact job. This is how I know that I have picked the right occupation. 

What are the biggest challenges you face as a mentor? 

Knowing what role to take when. When should I help guide the process versus provide more directive advice? When should I mostly practice listening? I try to deal with these challenges by falling back on my core values — transparency, communication and authenticity. I don’t know all the answers. I am here to help lift others, potentially provide some insights and help them succeed at their goals.  

How do you know when you've been successful as a mentor? 

This is a good question. How do you measure the success of a mentor-mentee relationship? It would go back to the goals and issues discussed — whether they are gaining confidence and skills relevant to those topics and whether they are achieving their goals. It also is important to create a space where both parties feel comfortable being open and honest. If that is happening then you are likely in a successful relationship.