RICKY RODRIGUEZ

Engineer, Raytheon

Age: 25

Heritage: Dominican

 

 

Ricky A. Rodríguez is a product of the American dream. His grandmother came to the United States in the late 90s where they found refuge in Lawrence, MA. He grew up humbly in the projects of Lawrence in a single parent home. He attended and graduated from Lawrence public schools and is an alumnus of the colleges of the Fenway (Wentworth Institute of Technology). His grandmother dedicated her early years working in the textile mills of Lawrence to support her family.

 

He became a professional DJ, photographer/videographer, makeup artist, & self-motivated community activist. All this while excelling in academics and high school varsity sports. His answers to the challenges of life were to face adversity and failure head on to develop character.

 

While in college, he built drones & gained hands on engineering experience.  This fueled his passion to teach kids how to build drones and continued on to teach other science topics like quantum field theory and string theory.

 

After graduating from Wentworth Institute of Technology, Rodriguez joined global defense and technology company Raytheon, where within his first year he invented 14 innovative technologies.

 

Following a stint in Raytheon’s Rapid Aerostat Initial Deployment (RAID) program, Rodriguez was asked to take on a challenging position supporting the government of Afghanistan by deploying advanced border security technologies. Rodriguez has spent two years in Afghanistan establishing and maintaining high-altitude aerostats outfitted with complex sensors that are designed to protect Afghanistan’s borders, an enormous and constant challenge.

 

During his time in country, Rodriguez has become a trusted mentor to U.S. ground forces, encouraging younger soldiers to pursue higher education and awarding scholarships to some. Additionally, he has written six books on a wide-range of topics, from quantum physics to the religion’s place in science. With his self-motivated attitude & strong character he has successfully remained overseas for two years and looks forward to returning again this year.

 

He has created a pseudonym as Ricky The Rocket Scientist in homage to his science hero Bill Nye The Science Guy. He creates YouTube videos to inspire kids on science. He uses the same name to author his books and hopes that one day he could fill book shelves like the Lawrence hero and author Robert Frost. He aspires to travel across the country and the world teaching kids science.