Juan Rodriguez, ’10, is an entrepreneur, an educator, and one of New England Tech’s successful alumni. Rodriguez began his career journey in 2008 at New England Tech where he enrolled in the Digital Media and Production (previously named Video and Audio Production) degree program.
New England Tech connected Rodriguez to CW28, an affiliate television station for The CW. Rodriguez was able to use the skills he gained at New England Tech to manage and create commercials and television content for the network.
Rodriguez discovered his passion for education and began a career as a CTE Teacher for the Providence Public School Department. Here, Rodriguez educates students on work readiness for careers in Audiovisual Communications.
With a passion for educating the younger generation as well as one for technology and media creation, Rodriguez embarked on an entrepreneurial journey.
In 2019, Rodriguez launched Winners’ Circle XR. Winners’ Circle XR provides unique educational experiences in Virtual and Augmented Reality with pre-built solutions that are tailored to suit all students and educators.
The company offers an after school program for students with an interest in coding, video games, and/or content creation where students immerse themselves and explore various careers and parts of the world that may not be accessible to them. Winner’s Circle XR also offers an XR Academy where students can learn entry-level 3D design and code.
Afterward, students can then immerse themselves into their 3D world with Virtual Reality or bring their 3D world into their space through
Augmented Reality.
Rodriguez allows young people to learn about technical careers that they may not have been exposed to otherwise. Through a fun, interactive and educational curriculum found in both XR Academy and the After School XR Workshop, students can access an environment and use tools that promote critical thinking, teamwork, and troubleshooting.
Rodriguez wants his students to remember to “keep working hard, don’t get discouraged, and always be prepared.”