What is your personal story?
I am an immigrant. I came to this country when I was around five years old. Although I was not raised as an immigrant, I still remember my journey here and my mother's purpose for embarking on this journey. Around the same time I moved to New Jersey from Cuba, my mother was going through a divorce with my father and decided to find the strength to come to this country alone as a single mother to give me a better life and a better future. Throughout my years and childhood, I was a very independent person, and I was that kid involved in everything. At one point, I was in every club in school because I wanted to gain a different perspective. My entire life, I have done everything. I have done theater, dance, I have been in a Spanish club, I have contributed to my community in any way I possibly can. I got my first job at 14, and that job was campaigning. My mother, at first, did not agree with that job, but I really wanted the
experience because I felt that I wanted to be an independent person, so she let me work. During my time campaigning, I learned a lot. I also learned that I never wanted to do politics again. I did that job for roughly three years, and I left on a good note, and I thought that everything the job had to offer me, it did.
When I got to college, I remember sitting in my classes and hating every single class, specifically science. I thought it was such a boring class because I could not debate and I could not have a voice in it, so I thought, "here we go again in politics." After having an immense background in politics and promising myself that I would not do it again, it found me, and it is my career goal. I aspire to have a political career and run for office one day. My time in college has not been anything less than political. I am the Vice President of the Student Government Association under the Judicial Review Board. Holding this position only makes me want to crave another one and continue my development and growth and maybe run for governor or senator; baby steps first. Since I was a very young person, I have learned that networking is essential and that to get where I want to go, I just have to continue working hard and not settle for less than my best. Those are words that still stick with me from my eighth-grade classroom wall, where my math teacher had them above his whiteboard to inspire us. Every day when I sat in that class, I would sit there and stare at those words, never settle for less than my best, and I knew that one day these were the words that were going to carry me to
success. I have been working hard my whole life, especially after understanding all the sacrifices my mother made for me to be here today. We left behind my entire family to embark on a new journey. I work hard every day to achieve my goals and help my mother, who gave up everything for me.
What struggles have made you strong?
I would say my biggest struggle is saying no. The word no is not an easy one for me to say, and I tried to take on a lot because I want to help others, but then I get to the point where I am very overwhelmed. I am a student that works almost full-time hours. I hold a leadership position, and I’m also in a sorority, Lambda Tau Omega Sorority, Inc. I
tried to give my all to everything and even spread myself thin, but there comes a point where I need to start using the word no to really prioritize work that I need to do. By saying yes to everything, I have found myself to be overworked and overloaded and not having enough time in a day to catch up. For me, mental health days were very nonexistent for a very long time, but then I realize that I can’t continue like this, and others also have to do their part. By learning to say no, I learned to prioritize and to understand that even though I wish I could do everything in the world, I have other
people, and I have a whole network of people I can reach out to. Learning to say no, I learned to ask for help which I would say was one of my biggest weaknesses. I always thought saying the word no would mean that I’m a selfish person, but it means that I understand my limits.
How has the Ambassador Program and the GlobalMindED Leadership Program influenced your professional path?
The global minded program has offered immense opportunities to network and to get connected with people from different areas and students from different colleges. We all want to strive to be successful and are student leaders who connect with our college community every day and want to see it succeed. This program has helped me want to
continue advocating more and working hard towards what I see needs to be handled in my community. By talking with my global minded peers, I see significant problems across the board happening for me here in New Jersey and happening across the country. For them, I see that there are problems that we perceive to be small or bigger
than what we think they are. It is a community of people wanting success and changes for the community and a better college campus. For my professional path, I want to focus on a lot of advocacy work, and I want to do a lot of work for people to help people and this program and this leadership opportunity takes me in the right direction.
What is special about you that an employer can’t live without? How will you set a new standard for the job, once hired?
I am a resilient worker. I give my heart to a company and answer my employer. I believe that it is essential to work hard and to be a moving part of the team. I believe in challenging systems that are present and that no longer work. I believe in being thorough, asking questions, and seeing things from different perspectives. Yes, I am an over-analyzer, but I analyze to understand and to really see the bigger picture. I love to ask questions and see what I can do to contribute more and in what ways I can be more beneficial to the team that I am in. My standards are always to be my best. I cannot be perfect because we all make mistakes but to give all I can possibly as a human being. To give my entire heart to a job and to the community in that workplace because everyone succeeds together.
