For two decades, Roberto Rodriguez kept America’s senior leaders connected around the world, from Iraq to the Mediterranean to high-altitude military aircraft. When he decided his next mission would be to earn a Penn State bachelor’s degree before retiring from the Marine Corps, he made it happen, even if he only had 15 minutes at a time in hotel rooms, on aircraft, and in whatever quiet space he could find.
Raised in Cidra, Puerto Rico, Roberto first understood service through the example of family members who wore the uniform, including an aunt who deployed to Desert Storm.
That spark carried him across continents, through combat tours, and ultimately into a second career. Today, he works for a defense contractor providing strategic communications support to a U.S. intelligence agency, translating complex issues for senior leaders and the American public.
His education not only sharpened his skills — it widened his worldview and gave him more time for what matters most: his family.
Early Service
Through the letters to his aunt deployed for Desert Storm, the idea of service became real and honorable. He enlisted in the Marine Corps in 1998, trained as a cryptologic technician, and deployed with the 2nd Radio Battalion — part of a career that would span from the USS Wasp in the Mediterranean to the Kuwait–Iraq border in 2003.
He left the Corps after that first Iraq tour and then did something uncommon: He felt he had exited too soon, missed the bond of Marines, and re-enlisted in 2006, soon deploying to Ramadi.
“I realized I got out prematurely,” he said. “I wanted to be where my Marines were.”
A New Objective: Education That Moves with You
Promoted to sergeant, Roberto urged his younger Marines to invest in education — and realized he needed to walk that walk. In 2012, while on intense recruiting duty hours (out by 6:30–7:00 a.m., home at 8:00–10:00 p.m.), he found Penn State World Campus. An admissions counselor encouraged him to apply and see what happens. He did — and was admitted.
“That acceptance meant the world,” he said.
Penn State World Campus matched his reality: an accredited, respected Penn State education he could access anywhere, supported by military tuition benefits and faculty who understood adult-learner life.
“I can’t think of a time an instructor didn’t extend a hand,” he recalled — including a deployed moment when a professor turned a time-impossible final project into an oral demonstration of mastery over the phone.
30,000 Feet, 15 Minutes at a Time
In 2013, Roberto joined the travel team for then-General Lloyd Austin, serving as a communicator — the person who keeps senior leaders connected securely by voice, video, and data across continents. The 
schedule was relentless; the travel spanned 30–40 countries. Yet school continued.
“If I had 15 minutes, I’d read 2–3 pages,” he said. “By the end of the week, all those little increments added up.”
There’s even a photo of him studying in a hotel bathroom because it was the quietest place.
Discipline defined the journey: once, with six free hours in Paris, he devoted two to course work. The mission wasn’t just graduation — it was what graduation would unlock: a career that kept him closer to home.
Three Families — and the Reason Why
Ask Roberto what matters most, and he’ll tell you plainly: family. He talks about three families — the one he was born into, the Marine Corps, and Penn State — and how they make him feel he never walks alone. At the center are his wife and daughter. Education was a pathway to be present, not always packing a bag for the next mission.
“Everything I do is about them,” he said. “I wanted a life where I could be home.”
A Wider Aperture
Penn State World Campus didn’t just fit Roberto’s life; it changed how he sees the world.
In online discussions and group projects, classmates joined from France, Saudi Arabia, Australia, and beyond. The same problem — say, a communications plan for a social issue — looked different through their legal and cultural lenses.
“Penn State opened the aperture,” he said. “I’m not the same person who enrolled in 2012.”
The Penn State Signal
When Roberto began applying for jobs near the end of his Marine Corps career, one moment confirmed he had made the right educational choice. During a Zoom interview, someone reviewing his résumé paused.
“It says here you graduated from Penn State — did you?”
“Yes, I did,” he replied.
There was silence. Then someone said, “Oh, wow.” The tone of the interview shifted instantly — from Roberto convincing them to the panel making the case for why he should join them.
Today, he serves as a strategic communications specialist with a defense contractor supporting a U.S. intelligence agency, advising senior leaders and translating complex issues into clear, accessible messages.
It’s the work he hoped for — mission-driven, people-centered, and grounded in the skills sharpened at Penn State.
“I Never Took It for Granted”
Roberto often returns to the improbable arc: a boy in Puerto Rico who never imagined graduating from a major U.S. university — now a Penn State alum leading teams and shaping communications at the national level.
“I never took it for granted,” he said. “It’s something I’ll always be proud of.”
This article is part of “40k alumni: 40 stories celebrating 40,000 graduates,” a series marking the milestone of more than 40,000 Penn Staters earning their degrees online through Penn State World Campus.