She instead took the year and dedicated her time to improve her swimming skills, in hopes that she could use her talents to land a scholarship. Rodriguez already had the high marks while attending All Saints Catholic Secondary in Whitby, now all she needed was a chance. With new coach Trent McNicol taking over her training at the Whitby Dolphins swim club, the chance would finally come a the University of San Diego.

"A year and a half ago when I came to the program, she was an average athlete at best," said McNicol. "Since, she has created a new focus and direction for herself as an athlete. Now, she is an incredibly gifted athlete going to a great academic school. I hope she goes down there and focuses hard on her training and school work. I have no doubt she will be successful."

During her year off, Rodriguez wasn't sure that she would be able to use swimming as a means to pay for her education. She attributes her success to the coaching change at the Dolphins.

"Before I got my new coach, I wasn't really thinking about getting a scholarship, but with Trent it got more serious," she explained. "I was able to get faster and it really paid off."

The Whitby resident will be studying biochemistry this fall. She landed a dual scholarship for swimming and her academic abilities. For Rodriguez, the choice of schools was an easy one.

"I really like the fact that it's a private school, so there are very small classes with usually no more than 30 people per class," said Rodriguez about her new home away from home. "The campus is absolutely gorgeous and it has a Spanish Renaissance theme. I had official visits to the University of Maryland and the University of Houston, but San Diego had more to offer."

Rodriguez has set some lofty goals for herself while away at school.

"I hope to get a really good undergraduate degree and maintain a 4.0 GPA so that I can get into medical school," she said with conviction. "Eventually I hope to become a surgeon."

She started swimming at the age of nine with the Dolphins. Rodriguez explained that her parents wanted her to get stronger because she was a small child. Her best events are the 100 and 200 metre butterfly. Earlier this year she earned the right to go to Montreal for the Olympic qualifiers which has been her greatest accomplishment in the pool to date. Her best finish there was 28th but plans to return for the 2012 qualifiers with aspirations to improve upon that. She will be heading to Winnipeg this summer to compete in the Summer Nationals on July 17.

As Rodriguez prepares to depart for sunny California, she knows that she will really miss her family, friends, and all her Dolphins teammates.

McNicol's message to all his swimmers holds true for Rodriguez.

"We teach leadership and perseverance," he explained. "When the swimmers retire from the sport, we want them to not have any 'what if's'. Don't question yourself, just leave it all out there in the pool. I know Jessica will and has a bright future ahead of her."