Meet Oscar Rodriguez, Danbury Schools and Business Collaborative Mentor

‘My best days’ are with DSABC mentor Calm, encouraging mentor helps student succeed                

As Oscar Rodriguez, a Danbury Schools and Business Collaborative (DSABC) mentor, looks back on his childhood, he seems to have but one regret: that he didn’t have a mentor.

Rodriguez, who works in Human Resources at Boehringer Ingelheim, said he remembers the days when mentors were allowed to bring in fast food hamburgers and soda for their students. He also remembers how happy and excited the students were to have a mentor.

“I wonder how my life would have been different, or better, if I had a mentor,” Rodriguez said.

Despite not having a mentor himself, Rodriguez said when the opportunity to become a mentor presented itself through his workplace, he thought about the difference he could make for a student.

“Even though I didn’t have the experience of being mentored, I said – let me make myself available. These kids are our future, and I want to help them,” Rodriguez, a 2007 graduate of Danbury High School, said. “It’s a good feeling to have someone to talk to you can trust.”

Two and a half years ago, Rodriguez became a mentor to Andrew Lima, now a sixth-grader at Rogers Park Middle School.

Andrew was very shy when he first met Rodriguez. He found school and homework stressful and he didn’t seem to want a mentor at first. Rodriguez said he stayed relaxed and just found games to play and kept it light.

“I asked him questions, but there wasn’t a lot of conversation,” Rodriguez said. But since the two having been meeting at school once a week for about 40 minutes over the past several years, Andrew is a different kid. He is no longer shy and anxious, and he uses the word “brave” to describe himself. 

“We developed a relationship, a friendship where we can trust each other and it built from there,” Rodriguez said.

Andrew’s first impression of Oscar was that he was calm and Andrew felt no pressure to just be with him.

“My best days are my days with Oscar,” Andrew said. “I don’t have to worry about homework, I can have fun and I calm down. I’ve become more open-minded and brave. Having a mentor can help me be successful. It’s somebody to give advice and encouragement not to give up.”

Rodriguez said that Andrew is very conscientious when it comes to schoolwork, so he focuses their meetings on activities that reduce Andrew’s anxiety about school.

“Andrew is very accountable. He’s bright and he has a bright future. He’s more outgoing now and has friends. He’s very confident and has grown as if he were a butterfly,” said Rodriguez. “You just have to put time and effort and the more time you spend, the closer you get. Once Andrew knows the capabilities he has, the possibilities are endless. He just needs to know it – and some kids don’t have that.”

Rodriguez said that mentoring experience has also helped him. He said he looks forward to taking time out of his week to help Andrew and give him encouragement.

“I look forward to taking this time and I notice a difference for myself,” Rodriguez said.


DSABC is a nonprofit organization that provides a school-based mentoring program for Danbury Public Schools.  DSABC matches supportive and caring adults with students to develop a one-on-one relationship. Mentors serve as positive adult role models providing moral support and encouragement. The objective of the program is to improve academic performance, attendance, behavior, attitude toward school and, most importantly, self-esteem and motivation. There are nearly 200 mentors who volunteer their time each week. 

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Submitted by Danbury, CT

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