Trilingual Alumna is One in a Billion

There are an estimated one billion trilingual speakers worldwide. If that sounds like a lot, keep in mind that it is just 13 percent of everyone on earth. RIC alumna Daiely Rodríguez ’21 is one in a billion. She was almost destined to speak multiple languages since she was a baby. 

“American Sign Language (ASL) was my first language, because both my parents are deaf and mute. I had to learn sign language in order to communicate with them,” she explains. “Then, I learned Spanish and later English.” (In the photos above, she is spelling R-I-C in ASL.)

Rodriguez was born in Puerto Rico but raised in her family’s home, the Dominican Republic. At the age of 12, she arrived in the United States with her parents, where she learned how to speak English. Trilingualism is something she considers a great asset because it has helped her not only in her personal life, but also in her professional life. 

For Rodriguez, a community outreach worker at Lifespan’s Immunology and Infectious Disease Clinic, being able to use not only what she learned as an undergraduate at RIC, but also her multiple language skills, has been life changing. “I take full advantage of being trilingual. It makes me feel good, because I’m more needed. A lot of the people who require my help are so happy that I know Spanish; they feel more at peace that I can help them,” she says. “It’s the same with a person who is deaf. When they come in, they already have in their minds that nobody is going to understand them, but as soon as they see that I know sign language, they feel like, ‘Oh, thank God!’ And that makes me feel good.”

Rodríguez believes that being multilingual in today’s world opens many doors and has brought many more possibilities into her life. “You have more opportunity to network with a lot of different people,” she says. “Networking is big for me. I love talking to different people, learning about people’s customs and their culture and that, for me, is one of the biggest advantages.”

For someone with Rodríguez’s background and knowledge, a B.S. in Community and Public Health Promotion with a concentration in Women’s Health has been a worthwhile decision, because it has been the bridge to connect with the community and be supportive. It has put her in a position where her ability to speak multiple languages can truly help people.

While at RIC she did her internship with DayOne RI, a non-profit organization based in Providence where she still volunteers, serving victims of sexual assault, domestic violence, human trafficking, and hate crimes. “My role was to be the victim’s advocate, and basically be with them through the process,” she says. She was there to explain to the victim that experienced an abusive situation what was going to happen next and give them the support needed so they would not feel alone. “Then we created a safety plan for them, for after they got out of there, and connected them to social services.”

Rodríguez feels that her time at RIC helped her become the professional and person she is now. “The professors there are amazing. They become your mentors. If you want to explore your options, they always kind of point you to different things, and even during the internship part of it, there are so many opportunities in different areas that you can explore and the professor will guide you to do what is right for you,” she says. “I loved the program because it gave me so much opportunity to learn how to talk to people, to present, promote, and educate. Plus, you’re always out there with the community.” 

She praises professor Soumyadeep Mukherjee, coordinator of the program, for his diligence throughout the disruptions to classroom learning and internships during the COVID pandemic. “He was just amazing at connecting us, and he was just on top of it all. He checked in with you to see if you had any questions or concerns,” she says. “He is so dedicated.” 

Now, she is looking forward to pursuing a master’s degree. “I definitely want to stay with public and community health,” she concludes. “I was not a risk taker, but I feel that this program pushed me out to be with the community.”