You could say Maite Rodriguez, 10, was wise beyond her years.
Her mother, Ana Rodriguez, said Maite was driven. She knew from the time she was in kindergarten that she wanted to be a marine biologist. In an interview with the Associated Press, Rodriguez said her daughter was set on attending Texas A&M-Corpus Christi for college.
Maite Rodriguez, one of 19 students killed in the shooting at Robb Elementary in Uvalde. (Copyright 2022 by KSAT - All rights reserved.)
“She was smart. She was ambitious,” said Destiny Esquivel, Maite’s cousin.
The 10-year-old was also an environmentalist. She wore green high-top Converse sneakers with a heart she had hand-drawn on the right toe. To Maite, it symbolized her love for nature.
Stephania Jimenez is an anchor on The Nightbeat.
She began her journalism career in 2006, after graduating from Syracuse University. She's anchored at NBC Philadelphia, KRIS in Corpus Christi, NBC Connecticut and KTSM in El Paso.
Although born and raised in Brooklyn, Stephania considers Texas home.
Stephania is bilingual! She speaks Spanish.
