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Pam Rodriguez has seemingly been everywhere lately, and this half Puerto Rican, half Guatemalan is enjoying every minute of it.

"I was the shyest girl you could possibly imagine. I always dressed in long sleeves and pants, always covered up from head to toe, and I think I covered up a lot of my personality in the process," says the L.A.-native. "And now, I'm just letting it all out and enjoying life, trying to stay away from drama and focusing on my career and being happy."

In the process she's making time to positively affect other people's lives. In 2006 she also began volunteering for charities that help families with children who are fighting cancer. "That's been the most fulfilling by far. It's motivated me to start my own foundation soon to help children who are burn victims."

We can't wait to see what's in store for Rodriguez in 2008. We caught up with her after one of her many photo shoots with acclaimed photographer Estevan Oriol.

REGO: How did you get into modeling?
Pam Rodriguez: I got into modeling about three years ago. It was something unplanned. I was walking into a night club and all of sudden they were having a Miss Hawaiian Tropics Latina Pageant. They were short on two girls. The guy was coordinating the pageant, pulled me in and said, "You have a great look. Would you be interested in being in a bikini contest?" I'd never been on a stage, never intended to be in it. I didn't even own a bikini, let alone have one on me. But it was peer pressure, all my friends told me to go into it so they could all get in for free, and get free drinks. They told me they would compensate me for everything, even if I didn't win. So I gave it a shot and I made it to the semi-finals, then finals. From there, I started meeting all these people. They told me my height wasn't runway/ fashion model but more of an urban print model and they told me they wanted me for car shows. So I did that and print, and touring. I'm here now trying to take it to another level, to acting.

REGO: How has MySpace helped?
PR: MySpace has helped me a lot. I got to be one of the top 10 MySpace girls in the country by my face and I got the chance to co-host a party, along with the other nine girls at Pure Nightclub. It was cool and I was really happy that I had more than 200 million hits and I have 100,000 friends. They have helped me not only promote myself, but with networking. At first it was new to me, almost like a little joke. But it makes a difference. People put comments on your pictures and say, "I'm your biggest fan!" And magazines read this and want to have you in it. So, I think MySpace rules all the way!

REGO: You've recently decided to pursue a career in acting. How's it going?
PR: I've been doing music videos mostly, but I just got my SAG card which is big. There's a lot of money in acting, but unless you have a God given gift, it's a lot of work. You need to work with acting coaches. And juggling between modeling and my full-time job, it's been difficult finding time to work with a coach. But I'm doing it, and I got a small speaking role in Dreamgirls.

REGO: You also find time to do a lot of charity work.
PR: I've been volunteering for the past year with Padres Contra El Cancer, which is the first Latino foundation that not only puts emphasis on children that have cancer, but also on the whole family. Not only do they suffer physically, but economically too. They have to take days off from work, and their health bills can pile up. So I've been volunteering in ways that help the foundation raise money to support these families.

Photo by Estevan Oriol