Rodriguez wishes similar success, and similar opportunity, to other Hispanics and Blacks who have been unable to break out of constricting environments.

"A lot of poor Hispanics and Blacks allow the poverty-level problem to perpetuate," Rodriguez says. "Because I am so ambitious and resourceful, it hurts me to see those having problems going to school and getting involved with drugs. I hate to see people waste away their lives."

A schedule that may seem overwhelming to others is, for Rodriguez, an attempt to avoid waste--of precious resources, precious time.

"Whatever she has gotten involved in, she has tackled it with more gusto than most people," says tutor Nichols. "She has extraordinary drive that is rare to see in anyone."

Illingworth concurs, describing Rodriguez as "a very strong individual who sets high goals for herself. She is very purposeful," he adds, "and she has a sense of humor about it."

Rodriguez's trademark determination extends social pursuits. Her roommates recall the time she tracked them down in Munich.

"She was in Berlin," Mai says, "and the other three of us were in Munich. She knew we would be in Munich, but she didn't know where or anything. She found us anyway, and we all ended up spending the day together, eating and having fun."

Rodriguez is involved in other activities that, according to Nichols, "she doesn't just do to pad her resume."

She is an accomplished dancer--tango, salsa, waltz and swing. She learned how to salsa while in Berlin last year. And when she wasn't studying or salsa-ing, Rodriguez worked at the Knecht Auto Oil Filter Company. Her duties at Knecht ranged from data processing and bookkeeping to serving on an assembly line.

"It's hard for an American to get employment in Germany," Rodriguez explains, "so I worked there [at Knecht]. It was tough and interesting, and I will just say it was difficult."

"It's important to do other things than just study," Rodriguez says. "I feel that when I put my mind to it, I can do whatever I want to do."

Whether that means cooking meals for her Russian emigre family, or organizing a spur-of-the-moment, May Day waltz on Weeks Bridge with her roommates, Rodriguez is up to the task.

Following her studies this summer, Rodriguez plans to move on to Argentina to work with a consulting firm. A year from now, she will enter the masters program at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem.

The awards continue to pile up for Rodriguez. Her thesis, titled "Berlin Blockade 1948," received a magna, and earned her the Russian and Soviet Studies Award.

Fifteen years down the road, Rodriguez says she sees herself married, with a large family, and involved in the local Catholic church. "I have a firm commitment to working at the grass-roots level," she says.

Today Rodriguez will graduate from Harvard. Her mother and her youngest brother will make the trip. The two Soviet emigres she has helped will also attend Commencement.

"It will be quite a circus," Rodriguez says. "They won't have languages in common at all, and my little brother will be stuck translating."

But they will all have Mayra Rodriguez in common. Rodriguez, who has made a life of understanding and bringing people together, breaking seemingly impenetrable barriers, will step in and calm matters down.

"My mom and little brother will be a part of this," Rodriguez says. "She has never been to this part of the country."

But Mrs. Rodriguez knew there was a college out there, somewhere on the East Coast, that her daughter should attend.