Influential Woman · Certified Surgical Tech

Zobeida Rodriguez

CNA

Certified Surgical Technologist, Surgical Care Affiliates

Palm Bay, FL

Certifications · Degrees · Memberships

Cert Certified Surgical Tech Cert CNA

Her Story

About Zobeida

I've been working as a Certified Surgical Tech for 18 years, assisting surgeons during operations and making sure all instrumentation and equipment is in working order so that everything goes smoothly and the doctor can proceed quickly. I grew up in the Bronx in New York, and when I was small, I always wanted to be a doctor. But in the inner city, you're just so blocked in and you don't have a lot of things that you're exposed to, so sometimes if you're not exposed to a lot of things, then you only know what you know. As I grew up, I worked in the hospital in the personnel department, then I became a CNA and was a CNA for 8 years. Then my best friend introduced me to Surgical Tech, and I liked it, so here I am. I was a single mom with 3 kids, went to school, and had 2 jobs. There was nothing that I was not doing. At my job, they have so much respect for me because whenever I'm here, they know I'm working. I'll be there sometimes earlier than my scheduled time, and I'll say hey, I'm here early, I know I'm not supposed to clock in yet, but if you need me, I'm here. And they tell me to clock in because they know I'm working, not in the lounge or in a corner on my phone looking at TikTok and YouTube. That's the kind of respect you earn when you show up and do the work.

Her Interview

Ten minutes with Zobeida

01What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?

Take it slow and learn, because every day is a learning experience. You're gonna learn something every day. You're not gonna learn the whole what you do in a day or two. It takes years to learn. And be patient with yourself. Don't be too hard on yourself. I tell young girls who say they can't do anything or they're too tired, I say, you know what? You have no idea. I had 3 kids, was a single mom, I went to school, I had 2 jobs. There's nothing that I was not doing. If I did it, you can do it too. Get yourself into a school, get yourself another job, do things. Idle hands get in trouble. I keep busy. And you don't have to stay stuck in a box. You can go out of that box and do other things. Be your own self. Don't depend on a person, whether it be your parents, a man, a woman. You have to depend on you. Can you pay that mortgage by yourself if something happened?

Keep Exploring