 She was awarded a scholarship to Oberlin Conservatory and studied under Roland and Almita Vamos for one year (1996).Her father, David Rodriguez, took her on tour with him in Europe when she was a teen, and after sitting through a sound check with her dad’s old friend Lyle Lovett, she decided to leave Oberlin and set herself on course to become a fiddler at the Berklee College of Music under the tutelage of renowned fiddler, Matt Glaser, graduating in 2000.There, her teacher, Matt Glaser, and her fellow students, including roommate Casey Driessen, helped her “find my groove and let go of that wall I had put up as a classical player.” 

In 2001 Chip Taylor asked Rodriguez to join his European tour after seeing her play with the artist Hayseed during SXSW, which featured a showcase of artists of Hispanic ancestry.