No one in her family had ever attended college. Neither of her parents had received any schooling beyond the sixth grade. But Mayra Rodriguez '88 knew she wanted more.

"[My mother] had heard there was a really good school on the East Coast," says Rodriguez. "I know it's cliche-ish, but she told me if I worked hard, I could do whatever I wanted to do, and that I could go to that school."

The daughter of a poor migrant worker family in McAllen, Texas, Rodriguez will become her family's first college graduate today. Rodriguez has five natural brothers and sisters, as well as seven step-brothers and sisters. She is a perfect example of the Harvard success story--disadvantaged kid makes good in the Ivies. But the going has not always been smooth.

"It's a little bit difficult," Rodriguez says. "I tell my family I am doing a thesis, and I have to explain to them what a thesis is."

Despite the occasional communication gaps, and the to-be-expected sibling rivalry--two of her younger brothers are currently attending college in Texas, another is in the Navy, but none have followed her to the East Coast--ties to her family, and to her mother in particular, remain strong.

"My mother is very supportive--she says I should do the best I can," Rodriguez says. "As long as I'm happy, she's happy. My mother could be distressed I'm running off to Moscow or somewhere else, but she's not."

Moscow, because Rodriguez is fluent in Russian. As well as in German, English and Spanish.

Though the multi-lingual Rodriguez stands only 5-ft., 1-in. tall, she has a dominating presence. Her voice sparkles after years of training in speech and debate, an extracurricular activity that won her some 60 trophies in high school.

Rodriguez has come a long way from McAllen, although her friends say she arrived at Harvard as self-assured as she leaves it.

"By the time she had gotten here, she had already established herself," says her Lowell House roommate Natalie J. Mai '88. "I would say she was confident in herself. There was some breaking away from home, which was to be expected, but she has been pretty stable throughout."

And despite the many obstacles confronting her, Rodriguez has relied on extraordinary inner strength to achieve seemingly improbable goals.

"I've overcome a lot of barriers," Rodriguez says. "Financial barriers, familial barriers. It wasn't culture shock. I just had to do a lot on my own."

She has not enjoyed the luxuries her often richer classmates take for granted. She has spent four years on work-study to support her studies. Throughout it all, Rodriguez has thrived, prompting Lowell House non-resident law tutor John Nichols '80 to comment, "she has mastered the Harvard financial aid system."

"This is a place that has allowed me to do what I want to do," Rodriguez says. "I've never been in a position where I needed something and I didn't get it. It's been a positive experience because I've been ambitious."

She adds, "I'm extremely resourceful, and I know which doors to knock on."