SitusAMC Power Pro: Rita Rodriguez

Name: Rita Rodriguez   
Title: VP, Instructional Design  
Office: Remote – Lutz, Florida 

Day-to-day: I am VP of Instructional Design on the training team, which falls under HR. Every day is completely different, which I love. Generally, I work with subject matter experts and the rest of the training team to create and manage training content, which could be e-learning, videos, manuals, job aids – pretty much anything for training. We do that for various business lines, including commercial, residential, HR and corporate. I also work very closely with our instructors to develop training programs for our live classes and help manage our learning management system, where we publish a lot of our videos and e-learning courses. 

Defining my path: One of the things I love about SitusAMC is the amount of room and opportunity for growth. Before Situs and AMC merged, I worked on the AMC side as a compliance underwriter and then moved into credit underwriting. After that, I moved on to the training team as a job coach, then that moved into content development. I was an instructor for a while and then moved back to content as an instructional designer.   

Best part of the job: I’m 50/50, super analytical and super creative, so I get to combine those two things to create great training. I have to be analytical to make sure our content is accurate and effective, and evaluate the results. But, I also need to be able to design it and present it in a way that catches peoples’ eyes in the right place and helps them retain the information. So, really, I get to use both of those sides of me. That’s one of the many things I love about my job.  

My childhood dream: When I was younger, I wanted to be a teacher or an artist. I was always either reading or drawing. Although I am technically neither one of those things today, I do help train people. I teach them concepts. I create PowerPoints and job aids. It wasn’t a direct path, but it worked out perfectly. I love what I do, and I think it's perfect for me and the way that my brain works.   

Home Is: Lutz, Florida. But I was born and raised in Tampa, which is close by. I live only 30 or 40 minutes from where I grew up. I have a big Cuban family. Everyone's pretty much in Tampa – my parents, sisters, nephews, nieces, aunts, cousins – there's a bunch of us. It's the best. Family is super important to me.  

Inspiration: My mom, she's amazing! She moved to the United States with my grandparents from Cuba when she was about 15. She taught herself how to speak English. She worked her way through school. She made a great career for herself. She raised me and my sisters, and we never wanted for anything. We grew up so happy. She's just such a joy. She's faced so many challenges and had to work so hard for everything but is still always ready to help or care for someone and just has the best attitude. She is so fun, and just spreads joy everywhere she goes. I definitely got my work ethic, love for family and positive attitude from her.   

Career mentors: I’ve been super lucky to have a lot of really great managers that have helped me get to that next position. My boss right now is amazing! She's helped me to see the bigger picture, connect with leadership, and she’s just great at giving advice and support. I also have two older sisters who are both in the mortgage industry. They helped me get started on that path in the beginning and have continued to support and guide me throughout my career.  

Paying it forward: I want to help people succeed. I want to see the best in people. One of my favorite things about this job is that I get to help people get over their challenges and move to the next level. I’ve taken the lessons I’ve learned from my mentors, coworkers and my learners and shared them to keep that growth going. Even if it’s something small, I’m going to pass it along. I’m going to put it in the team chat for other people. I’ve been so lucky and blessed with the help that I’ve gotten, so when I get to do that for other people, it’s the best.