Robert Arnold Rodriguez Endowed Scholarship

The words ‘”faithful giving” took on an entirely new meaning when Thelma Rodriguez became a scholarship donor in 1993. CLU has many scholarship donors, but few of them send a check each and every month. Yet that’s exactly what Thelma did for several years.

Robert Arnold Rodriguez, for whom this scholarship is named, was a well-trained church musician, having earned his master of sacred music degree at the University of Southern California. Robert’s commitment to sacred music was total, and he was dedicated to music as his life ministry. At the time of his death in 1992, he had served as director of music at Pacific Palisades Lutheran Church for 17 years.

In contrast, Robert’s wife—Dr. Thelma Rodriguez—was an aerospace engineer who spent many years as an employee of Aerospace Corporation in El Segundo where she was responsible for designing satellites for the U. S. Air Force. The couple lived in Malibu in the company of their dogs and cats. Robert and Thelma were also business partners as owners of two yogurt shops.

In the years following her husband’s death, Thelma made several changes in her lifestyle. She sold the yogurt shops and retired in 2003 to Tampa, Florida, to be near family members. There she built a new home and took up running. She was part of a group that did a three-day, 60-mile walk for the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation in 2005. Because of her love of animals, she surrounded herself with “family” –two dogs and six cats. She also became a volunteer tax expert for AARP, working to help older citizens. She joined a Lutheran choral group that performed portions of Handel’s Messiah during the holiday season. Yet no matter how involved she became, Thelma never failed to send her monthly check to CLU for Robert’s endowed scholarship.

It might seem unusual that Thelma chose to establish a scholarship at CLU rather than at USC, Robert’s alma mater. But, as she explained, “Robert admired and appreciated the quality of performance by the CLU choral and instrumental groups.” So the scholarship, in a way, came as a direct result of the impact that CLU music outreach programs have in the community. The Robert Arnold Rodriguez Endowed Scholarship has two criteria; a student must be a music major and have a budding potential for making music a ministry in his or her life.