Casimira Rosamond (Cassie) Rodriguez graduated cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts in Politics on June 4 at the 272nd Princeton University commencement ceremony in Princeton, New Jersey.
Princeton University President Christopher L. Eisgruber presided over the ceremony that took place on the front lawn of Nassau Hall, Princeton’s oldest building. Music for the commencement was provided by members of the Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia.
While at Princeton, Rodriguez studied international relations, focusing on East Asian politics, Japanese security studies, and Japanese language. Her senior thesis, Unfettered Japan: Tracing the Role of the United States and China in the Development of Japanese Security Policies, explored the role of the United States and China in the current shaping of Japanese security strategy and the issue of constitutional revision. Rodriguez also earned a certificate of proficiency in East Asian Studies and in the History and Practice of Diplomacy. She was named a Blakemore Freeman Fellow in March 2019, and will continue her studies in September at Stanford University’s intensive language program in Yokohama, Japan for one year.
In September 2020, Rodriguez will pursue an MPA at the Woodrow Wilson School at Princeton University, where she was admitted as part of the Scholars in the Nation’s Service Initiative (SINSI) program designed to provide exceptional students both the academic training and the practical work experience in federal service needed to succeed in public service careers.
Rodriguez is the daughter of Mike and Justine Rodriguez, also of San Bernardino. She graduated from Aquinas High School in San Bernardino as the valedictorian in 2015.