You Are Capable, You Belong, You Are Enough

I am a first generation Mexican American professional who came from a low income household.

I was born to two immigrant parents in Wenatchee, WA. My parents have worked in agriculture their whole lives since migrating to the United States. Growing up, my family and I were constantly moving - this was mainly due to my parents ability to find work within the apple industry. We ended up moving away from Chelan because it was transitioning from growing mostly apples to what it is now with the many wineries and tourist activities. We ended up in a small town called Royal City. This is where I ended up living most of my teenage years and ultimately graduating from.

My high school experience was good overall. I was always challenging myself to get good grades and taking many STEM classes to prepare myself to be a strong applicant for college institutions. I navigated my college application process with the help of my godmother, who at the time, was in her second year at the University of Washington. In the end, I graduated with highest honors and received enough from grants and scholarships to pay for all of my college education to attend UW.

I remember my parents constantly telling us to do good in school and get good grades so that one day we can go to college and not end up like them. As I reflect back, I am proud of all the work that my parents put in to give us the opportunity to focus on our education while in school. To be frank, I do want to be like my parents, hard working individuals who never gave up to provide opportunities for their children even when putting food on the table was difficult at times. Although today I don't have a relationship with my father, I am still thankful for everything that both my mother and father did - they believed in me. 

Being the first in my family to attend a four year university like the University of Washington, I didn’t know what to expect. I was fortunate enough to have had my godmother there as a current student and I am thankful for her because even as she faced adversity as the first in her family to attend a four year institution as well, she was always there to support me with my process. However, my transition to UW was still difficult. The first two years, I was failing my classes and this was not because I didn’t want to do well but because the course work was much more challenging than I could have ever expected. I tried and tried but frequently felt very discouraged that I was not grasping the concepts like the rest of my peers. Quite frankly, many times I questioned whether I belonged at an institution like UW. I constantly felt like an imposter in an institution that didn’t have many folks who looked like me. 

Thankfully, in the last two years of being at UW, I met and became part of an amazing community of Latinas through my sorority, Lambda Theta Alpha Latin Sorority, Inc. I finally felt like I had a place where I belonged on campus. After being told by an academic counselor within one of the departments on campus that I should try something else because I would not be considered for the major, I met an amazing academic advisor within the department of Anthropology who made sure that I was taking all the right courses to get me on track to graduate. Although Anthropology was not my first choice, I am thankful because it allowed me the opportunity to graduate with a Bachelor's degree! 

Today, I work at a non-profit supporting students and families that come from low-income backgrounds - many of whom are first generation. My goal with the work that I do is to provide the resources that I did not have for myself when I was navigating the college going process. Being a first generation Latina and Spanish speaker, this has allowed me the opportunity to connect with many students and families by sharing my story. As I grow as a professional, I want to incorporate my passion for financial literacy into my work. I realize that our communities don’t have many resources around financial literacy whether it is talking about how to budget, investing for retirement, or building wealth for future generations. I want to contribute the knowledge that I have learned from my research to help close the wealth gap that exists. My goal is to receive my Certified Financial Planner certification and provide education to these very communities. I am a strong believer that we are capable of building wealth for ourselves and our communities by providing education and resources.

Lastly, although I do struggle with imposter syndrome and the feeling of not being good enough, I still push myself because I know I am deserving of the opportunities that come my way. If I can leave everyone with a message it would be that you are capable, you belong, and you are enough!