Pablo Rodriguez 

When you first meet Pablo, you immediately feel his warmth. He’ll tell you he loves to travel, discover new foods, laugh with friends, and spend time with family — anything that brings him joy. But beneath that easygoing energy is a story of grit, heart, and purpose.

Pablo is a first-generation Mexican American and the first in his family to attend college. FAFSA applications, housing forms, navigating campus life — he had to figure all of it out on his own. It was stressful, yes, but it was also the beginning of a journey he now looks back on with gratitude.

He studied at Loras College in Dubuque, starting in 2019 — right before the world changed. When COVID hit, Pablo spent more than a year attending school online before returning to campus. Even then, he wasn’t just taking classes; he was working part-time, finding an internship, and double-majoring in psychology and social work with a minor in Spanish.

As part of his social work program, Pablo needed a practicum placement. He knew he wanted to come home to Des Moines — to build real relationships and give back to the community that raised him. That search led him to Project Iowa.

In the summer of 2023, Pablo joined Project Iowa as an intern, stepping into an entirely new world: workforce development. It was eye-opening for him to see the profound impact employment — or the lack of it — has on a person’s financial, emotional, and social well-being. “A fulfilling job can change a person’s whole life,” he says.

Pablo served as Project Iowa’s Latinx Outreach Coordinator, building connections with community partners like Knock and Drop, setting up tables where Spanish-speaking families felt safe approaching him, and walking people through one-on-one employment support. He helped individuals discover their strengths, find meaningful pathways, and pursue ethical employment — workplaces where they could earn a livable wage, be treated with dignity, and show up as their full selves.

Those experiences didn’t end with his internship. They shaped him.

Today, Pablo works as a caseworker, meeting individuals where they are, often in moments of deep vulnerability. His days vary — helping someone apply for immigration relief, supporting a family with housing paperwork, guiding a parent through school enrollment forms — always approaching people holistically and with compassion.

He’s also a graduate student at Drake University, studying clinical mental health counseling. And his passion is clear: expanding access to mental health services, especially for Latinx and Hispanic communities. Pablo knows what stigma looks like. He knows the barriers. He knows the importance of sitting across from a provider who understands your lived experience and he wants to be that bridge.

And he’s dreaming even bigger. He hopes to merge social services, mental health, and legal advocacy — perhaps working in immigration evaluations or serving as a Department of Justice representative. Ultimately, he wants to pursue a PhD or PsyD and become a clinical psychopharmacologist, one of the few mental health providers who can prescribe medication — a need that grows more urgent every year.

When asked what he’d tell others beginning their journey, Pablo doesn’t hesitate: “If you see an opportunity, take it. You never know where it’ll lead.” His time at Project Iowa helped him find clarity — not just in his career path, but in who he wants to be. He believes deeply that personal well-being must come first, that authenticity matters, and that when people feel whole, they can step into the world as their best selves.