Raised in the tapestry of Mexican and Venezuelan cultures in the Central Valley of California, I spent evenings and weekends eating arepas and watching telenovelas at my grandmother’s house.

For years, I grappled with an academic existence that felt separate from the rich culture of my home and community. I started at an English-only, majority-white school with Spanish as my first language, and began the process of assimilation by rejecting the language of my ancestors.

I survived by being an excellent student. I devoured books and was often one of the only Latinas in AP and honors classes. I had given up so much of myself to become a “successful” person.

It wasn’t until college that I began studying the power of multiculturalism and the people of color who paved the way for me, unravel the layers of cultural conditioning, and start reclaiming who I truly was.

I focused on rest and how I wanted to reemerge.

I reflected on what kept me in education for so long.

I wrote a dream job description with no title, clear on what I needed to thrive in my professional and personal life.

I felt confident about it, but one night I had a call from a headhunter who told me to give up and settle for less. But I held on to my dreams, continued trusting in myself, my community, and my purpose.

And before the 6 months were over, I secured a position as an executive at a non-profit, opening a branch in the exact city I wanted to move to, and making the money I wanted. I proved that headhunter wrong.