Andrew A. Rodriguez, SJ, 40, was born in the Philippines and immigrated to Los Angeles with his family when he was 15. He received an associate degree in nursing in 1996 from Glendale Community College in California and then earned a bachelor’s degree in liberal studies from California State University. He began considering religious life during nursing school, but decided he wanted to get some work experience first, so he taught public elementary school in Los Angeles for seven years, while also working on a master’s degree in school psychology from Azusa Pacific University in California. Rodriguez had been familiar with the Jesuits’ work in the Philippines, and because he was an educator, he thought the Society would be a good fit. He entered the Jesuits after completing his master’s degree in 2006. During the novitiate, he worked at a homeless shelter in Venice, California, taught psychology at St. Ignatius College Preparatory in San Francisco and did prison ministry in Los Angeles and at San Quentin State Prison. Rodriguez was then missioned to Loyola University Chicago, where he received a master’s degree in applied philosophy in 2011. Next he returned to St. Ignatius College Prep for two years, teaching Scripture, ethics and psychology. At the Jesuit School of Theology of Santa Clara University in Berkeley, California, he earned a Master of Divinity degree, while also serving as a deacon at St. Agnes Church in San Francisco. During his formation, Rodriguez had the opportunity to teach English to teachers in Xiamen, China; study Spanish in Uruguay and Guatemala; lead a student immersion group in El Salvador; and engage in interreligious dialogue with Muslim students in Indonesia. After ordination, Rodriguez will serve at the Jesuit Retreat Center of Los Altos in California, where he looks forward to sharing the Spiritual Exercises and making them more accessible to a wide range of people. His first Mass as a Jesuit priest will be celebrated at Blessed Sacrament Parish in Hollywood, California. (California Province)