April 25, 2025 • 29 mins
Welcome to the First Gen 101 podcast, where first-generation graduates share their stories and career tips. In this episode, host Miguel Sanchez interviews Carlos Orbe Jr., a dynamic first-gen graduate. Carlos discusses his background, the importance of mentorship, and his impactful work with Maryland Latinos Unidos. Carlos's story is filled with lessons on resilience, adaptability, and finding one's true calling. Tune in to discover how Carlos builds bridges, drives change, and helps shape the community through his work.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Miguel Sanchez (00:09):
Welcome to first gen 1 0 1, the podcast
where first-generation graduatesshare their stories and career
tips.
I am your host, Miguel Sanchez.
In this episode, Carlos orbitjunior, a dynamic first gen
graduate.
He talks about his educationalpath.
The importance of mentorship.
(00:31):
And his impactful work withMaryland Latinos needles.
Dive into this episode todiscover how Carlos Bill's
bridges and drives change.
Welcome to another episode ofthe first gen one on one podcast
today.
I have Carlos, Carlos.
Thank you for being here today.
Carlos Orbe, Jr. (00:51):
Thank you so much for having me, Miguel.
This is awesome.
Miguel Sanchez (00:54):
We're going to get right into it.
We have a lot to talk about.
Carlos, tell me about yourbackground.
Carlos Orbe, Jr. (01:00):
Right?
So, my background as a firstgen, right?
My father was born in Ecuador.
I think it was along Salinas.
to be more specific.
he came here when he was abouteight years old with his other
family members that I thinkrange from seven kids.
They had, but you know, theycame in two parts.
(01:22):
He was among the last group tocome.
But my mother was actually bornin Washington, so then they had
me among two other, children.
and from there it was just avery, it was, obviously it was a
varied childhood that I lookforward to getting into.
It's filled with color, It'sfilled with culture.
(01:44):
It's filled with beautifulthings that I believe.
Make up the first gen experienceties into immigration, ties into
all these different things, allthese crazy themes right now
that we're experiencing in adifferent way.
Miguel Sanchez (01:59):
And where did you grow up?
Carlos Orbe, Jr. (02:02):
Locustdale Drive.
I remember the road nameclearly.
And then, my mother decided shewanted to move to the country.
So my father naturally thought,happy wife, happy life.
So we ended up moving toPoolsville area, which is right
near Frederick.
If people aren't familiar with,the territories around there.
Miguel Sanchez (02:24):
And that's Frederick Maryland,
Carlos Orbe, Jr. (02:26):
Yeah, Poolsville, Maryland, Frederick,
Maryland around there.
But more specificallyBealsville.
It's a small town.
I, I don't even know thepopulation number, but growing
up there was like one restaurantwhere you had a really good
time.
And then a gas pump and that wasabout it.
Miguel Sanchez (02:42):
So being from Maryland, how did you choose
Manhattan College?
And you can tell us a little bitabout the process of choosing to
attend Manhattan College.
Carlos Orbe, Jr. (02:53):
I can't talk about my college experience
without talking about my highschool, which was St.
John's College High School.
It is a part of a long standingtradition of Lasallian, Jesuit
and it's that history is so richin religion and, and their
different cultures that theyhave over there.
But I was blessed to be a partof a slash military school slash
(03:17):
college prep.
So the counselors really focusedon our trajectory.
Where do we see ourselves?
They would ask us questions thatwould really help us, identify
our our mastery over certainthings in high school as young
as you were there on thatfoundation.
It was so solidified.
(03:38):
through like those internalquestions as to who I am, what
do I want to do?
What is this school for me?
I decided that New York that wasan area where it was full of
energy.
It was the live city.
I knew that my extroversionwould be met there.
And so my counselor was a nobrainer, said Manhattan College.
It's a Lasallian institution,just like our high school was.
(04:02):
And From there it's, I was thereon a Lasallian scholarship
actually.
So that was what helped solidifythe bridge.
And, Manhattan college justchecked all the boxes at the
time.
Miguel Sanchez (04:15):
In the process of selecting Manhattan College,
did you consider other colleges?
How did that look like for
Carlos Orbe, Jr. (04:23):
Well, it's very important to gauge if you
want to be.
In, in a large universitysetting where you probably will
not be the main focus of yourteacher.
The curriculum will be a bitvaried.
It'll be different because ofthe large crowds.
Me, I know I wanted to focus ona small liberal arts college
(04:44):
There were, I think, tenstudents to one teacher ratio
going on, and I knew that Iwanted to engage with my with my
teachers.
Miguel Sanchez (04:55):
going to a smaller college can let you have
deeper connection connectionswith staff, faculty, and other
students because networking,it's a really important part of
the college experience.
You learn something and you'realso going to meet other people.
in that sense, how did you findyour community at Manhattan
college being that you were notfrom New York?
Carlos Orbe, Jr. (05:19):
Well, to be honest with you, I was was kind
of a social little butterflythat kind of had to spread his
wings because I thought it was awelcomed challenge to move to a
space.
You don't know anyone, but byGod, you have the will to do it.
my community was comprised ofsmall, different circles of
people.
(05:40):
that I wanted to either becomeor reminded me of a piece of
home.
And I think it's important forpeople to gauge this.
And I was looking at thequestions earlier and I totally
want to answer this like this.
It's just I heard aninspirational talk on Netflix
one time where the speaker poseda question to the audience and
it says, if you had a boat andthe world was ending, And there
(06:03):
were only 5 to 6 spotsavailable, your family was
already taken care of.
Who would you bring out of, yourfriends, acquaintances,
colleagues, everything, and,they answered the closest people
to them, you know, and he askedquestions.
I was like, what's, what arethese characteristic types?
What are, you know, and theysaid, Oh, they're this, they're
(06:24):
that.
And you come to find out theypicked all the same type of
person.
So for.
The message in that story was tosay each of these spots are
meant for a specific type ofindividual that brings out a
different life in you.
And, when you die, you'resurrounded by all the talents
and all the things that youcould have been all of your
(06:45):
goals, all your dreams.
What communities are yousurrounding yourselves with that
keep that alive?
And so my communities werecomprised pretty much of those
small individual aspects that Iwanted To be, as I grow older,
what's my five year vision, myten year vision of myself, so.
Having those great people aroundreally helped shape
Miguel Sanchez (07:05):
so it sounds like you really had, a clear
vision of what you were lookingfor, what type of school, what
were some of the challenges youfound as you started college?
Carlos Orbe, Jr. (07:18):
I will say that it was difficult because
for me, coming from a collegeprep school, coming from a Latin
culture there's a lot ofpressure put on you to become a
doctor, a lawyer all thesethings.
And it's common characteristicthat is shared in many minority
cultures here, you know?
And so I know it's, the same forthe Indian community, the Asian
(07:40):
community, so many differentvaried responses, but that's.
What I wanted to do.
I thought I had it all figuredout.
I know I no longer need to getthe advice of other people.
I'm just gonna go all in.
But in reality, that's possiblythe worst thing that you could
do for yourself.
I decided to join in pre med.
(08:02):
I wanted to be an orthodontist.
I wanted to be rich.
I wanted to take two weeks offfrom work every other week.
It was I had a vision, but then,my dad comes in and he says, you
know, you're extroverted.
You like to network.
You like to bring peopletogether.
Why haven't you thought aboutcommunications?
(08:23):
And then my mom snaps quicklyand says, no, he's going to be,
he's going to be a doctor.
And if He's not going to be adoctor.
He's going to be a lawyer.
I ended up pursuing a wrongfield that wasn't for me.
it's, it's important that yourecognize good things take time,
You need to wait and understandwhat is it that makes you smile?
(08:45):
What is it that makes you likeit doesn't feel like work?
And I know that's so cliche,it's so corny, it's, it's, it's
repeated, but that's also howimportant it is.
Miguel Sanchez (08:58):
that's a great point.
And speaking of finding itsounds like you're calling or,
or finding the career that makesyou happy.
So to speak, what was the roleof mentors in your, in your
process?
Did you have someone in collegeother than your parents who
(09:18):
said, try this career, thinkabout this, think about that.
What did that, how did that looklike for you?
Carlos Orbe, Jr. (09:23):
Mentorship was something that I always
strive to look for.
But here's the, here's thetrick.
I only interviewed mentors thatI would change places with them.
And that was from a familyperspective, that was from a
work perspective.
I wanted to look at the wholeperson.
And, so, to be in law, I waslike, okay, this is something
(09:45):
where I would want to interviewthe lawyers that, you know, I
saw in their specific field andtheir disciplines and then I
would want to have a I wouldjust want to have a mentor that
was well rounded, that had myoriginal thought processes that
I had going into this thing.
but mentors help guide anddirect you towards different
(10:10):
thoughts that you might havenever even thought of.
So it's important to have thatget into that pipeline and see
what you can find.
Miguel Sanchez (10:19):
That's a great point.
As you know, I work in lawschool admissions.
And one of the questions we askto prospective students, why do
you want to be a lawyer?
Is it to help people?
There are many ways you can helppeople that go beyond law or
could be done in other careers.
For those of you listening whoare interested in becoming
(10:39):
lawyers.
It's a great profession.
Be very clear on why you want topursue law or any other career.
And you mentioned a few otherexperiences and factors that I
want to touch on, and that'sregarding your, your graduate
degree, because not only did youcomplete a college, but you've
also completed a master'sdegree.
How was the master's in publicadministration program different
(11:05):
than your undergrad experience?
Carlos Orbe, Jr. (11:08):
I will say that my undergrad experience was
amazing towards the end.
They gave an opportunity whereyou, it was like a makeshift
choice if you wanted to be inthe classroom or if you wanted
to take an internship instead.
And I remember towards, the endof my junior year, going to
senior year, I was doing threeinternships.
(11:31):
You know, and To me, I neverlearned well in the classroom.
I wanted to get out there.
I wanted to actually understandthe real world.
And so because I was incommunications, I understood the
foundation of how I could usewhat I'm learning to, better
myself, better those around me.
And mostly like understand mycraft to manipulate it in
different ways.
(11:52):
Because communications is abase, but how you use it could
be, Yeah.
So, I will say that when I wasin my master's program, uh, and
I went to the University ofMaryland, I started out in
public policy.
because you have to choose aspecific field that you wanted
to go into.
And I was beginning to realize,like, this, this itch that I was
(12:15):
getting.
It was because I was back in theclassroom, and I had learned so
well just by being out there,getting in the noise that, I
struggled with that because fromfrom my standpoint policy is the
academia portion.
Right.
It's very important.
If you are like of thatintellectual capacity to absorb
(12:36):
all those words and see it.
But me, I was coming from thedirt.
I was coming from, hey, I havemy sleeves rolled up.
I'm looking to learn what youguys are teaching me.
And, for the most part, I lovedmy experience at University of
Maryland, but I realized I hadto pivot.
So I switched to Masters ofPublic Management.
And that is what I felt was theapplication process of all the
(12:58):
academia that I was learning.
considering myself a very actionforward person as I think many
in the Latino community are.
It's it was important for me tounderstand the different
learning environments and what Ididn't like and what I did like.
Miguel Sanchez (13:16):
How was the process of getting your first
job and how was that, how didthat lead to your current
position?
Carlos Orbe, Jr. (13:23):
I did my AmeriCorps year with the
Lasallian Volunteers, LasallianHeritage, that's that culture I
was telling you about.
And, I was stationed inPortland, Oregon, my original
position for this high schoolwas, An IT specialist and, you
know, on my application, I saidI worked for an IT for like a
(13:46):
month at college just to helppay the bills, so I felt like I
was ill prepared, but I signedup for this volunteer year
because I wanted to impactyounger audiences.
I wanted to engage with youngeraudiences.
younger kids that look like me,law was falling short, there was
still juvenile injustice, therewas still all these things, so I
said, I'm going to go directlyto a high school in need, in an
(14:07):
under resourced area, and I'mgoing to give my all to that.
And I was met with so muchhardship.
So much A lot of trials to testwhat ability do I have in
translating what I learned incollege and what I learned in my
(14:28):
childhood development growing upin under resourced areas.
How do I combine the two totranslate it to these kids?
And it didn't come through IT.
came through a poetry club thatI started, uh, and that is what
I consider my first job.
because it was one I was gettingpaid.
(14:49):
But two, it was the job thathelped me understand the
difference between a professionand a vocation.
And a vocation is where youdedicate yourself unwittingly.
You become obsessed and thattype of care, that type of
passion.
It exists.
It's out there.
And when we're younger,especially first gens, we're not
(15:14):
really introduced to this tothis fabric of reality.
We're so caught up in, no, wegotta be successful, we gotta do
this, we gotta do that, and itlooks like one specific lens.
And that's not true.
We are very dynamic.
And so, what that took me to isunderstanding policy, believe it
(15:34):
or not.
Because I had to work withdifferent mechanics in the
school.
In this poetry club, I made, Iposed a challenge to these young
poets that, remember, have gonethrough hell and back.
but I wanted them to showcasewho they were.
So my subject matter titleswould be Write a letter to your
unborn child, embody an emotionand personify it.
(15:56):
Tell me what is hate, what islaughter, what is all these
things.
And so these kids shocked me andthese were first gen students
too.
These were minority kids.
These were the outcasts ofsociety, which many times are
written off.
And to be quite frank, I believeI was one of those And so when
(16:19):
they.
Rose to that challenge.
I decided that I wanted to givethem a stage and Ergo went the
talent show, but the talent showWasn't as easy as it was I had
to talk to the president of theschool I had to talk to the
principal and at First they werelike no we can't do this because
of money.
I said don't worry about budgetI will speak and see what
resources we can allocate andsure enough the show got the
(16:44):
green light But Miguel, itdidn't stop there.
It was one of those things whereI had students help me say, Hey,
like this is a community thing.
What can we do to gather allthese people together?
And sure enough, it's Portland,Oregon.
The teachers are musicians aswell.
So I had the janitor at the timeof the school, a sanitation
(17:05):
engineer come to me and say,Hey, I'm in a band.
I hear your kids playinstruments.
You could use my instruments.
If you'd like, if we can have agig, I'm like a hundred percent.
The math teacher was a part of arap group.
He joined as well.
Collaboration with the art club.
It turned out to be one of themost beautiful shows and these
(17:26):
poets that I helped create or Ihelped forge, not create,
because they had that inthemselves.
They are now doing their ownthings.
Some are musicians, some haveembodied poetry.
So all this to bring back toyour question, it's important
that you understand what your,what your passions are and how
(17:50):
they align before picking yourfirst job.
Because it could lead to therest of your life in a beautiful
way, in a beautiful process.
Miguel Sanchez (17:59):
I love that you started something out of nothing
really, and I can tell thatcommunity organizing is really
in your heart.
It's, you correct me if I'mwrong, it sounds like that's
something that you reallyunderstand and you embody.
Tell me how that has translatedin your current work and how did
(18:22):
you get to your currentposition?
Carlos Orbe, Jr. (18:23):
Yeah.
So right now I am thecommunications and public
affairs specialist for MarylandLatinos, and needles, and this
is a dedicated nonprofit.
That truly tries and succeeds inbecoming the bridge, right?
The bridge between senators,house delegates, uh, leaders in
(18:46):
so many different facets ofsociety, You could say.
And we connect them to the bootson the ground, the street level
bureaucrats, the, the peoplethat are actually making the
difference day in and day out,years upon years, dedicating
themselves to communityorganizing to advocacy, and I
consider it to be an honor uh,to be among them.
(19:08):
But, what MOU does so well isthat cross collaboration, and me
in my specific role, Iintroduced these two parties
that seemed so distinct to cometogether for the benefit of the
community.
And that means that real lifechange is being made every day.
And I think it's the way that Igot there was through a varied
(19:31):
path, right?
I was lucky enough, uh, after mylaw studies And, everything, uh,
that were cut short in New York,um, I decided to come and,
dedicate myself to law in D.
C., because this is where Iwanted to set myself up.
and.
I was applying, Miguel, Iapplied to 236 law positions.
(19:54):
Now, I got interviews, I got,maybe I got like 10 interviews,
Didn't work out at any of them.
And then, my sister and my mom,they sat down with me because
they saw that I was, it's adepressing battle, to, to try to
translate your self worth on apiece of paper and to be
accepted.
But especially for a first genstudent, a first gen generation,
(20:18):
anything.
And so, my parents and my sisterwere like, You're selling
yourself too short.
Why don't you apply for yourdreams?
Like, why don't you just applyfor your dream law firm for this
government agency and all thesethings?
And I was like, you're notwrong.
You're not wrong.
If I'm getting rejected, whynot?
(20:39):
Fast forward two weeks later, Igot acceptance from the DOJ.
I got an interview with NSA.
It was, it's crazy what couldhappen when you set your sights
higher.
And so I ended up working forthe department of justice in the
healthcare fraud division.
And that was where I believed Icould fight For the average man
who was, you know, scamminginsurance and just the horror
(21:01):
stories that you would hear inthe cases that I had.
It just it defeats you.
But I understood the limitingfactors of only helping a
specific audience.
I understood that law is twopeople in a courtroom, playing a
game, right?
But policy and legislation arethe rules of the game that are
(21:21):
being written.
So you gotta have that chessvision, like I said before.
And so, I, grueling, it was agrueling process, but it was an
a journey.
Of education in so manydifferent lights.
And there were even lesson plansthat I didn't agree with from my
master's program, I believed,and this is important for people
(21:42):
to hear because in my trajectoryof getting to where I am, I had
to recognize the wrongs alongthe way there.
And for my master's program, wewere learning.
In the academia side, as I toldyou, policy, outdated measures
outdated banking systems,monetary policies, everything
that has led us to collapseafter collapse to the storm that
(22:06):
we are in right now.
And in my mind, I'm over herepracticing AI.
I'm over here studying cryptoblockchain technology, seeing
where it can take us.
Because what I'm trying topromote to my people and
Maryland Latinos Unidos andthese bridges is that we need to
attack literacy, financialliteracy.
We need to do math.
And so I'm trying to find a wayto revolutionize a traditional
(22:29):
model.
And it's.
it's.
sad because you begin tounderstand that the traditional
mindset is so entrenched in oureducation systems that it really
debilitates a young mind fromwanting to do real change, and
that's not a shot to anyspecific schools or anything.
(22:50):
It's just it's what I'm seeingin my community studies in the
data and the statistics in theeducation summits that I'm
working on now.
And so.
I say all this to now let youknow that I've, that work led me
to the Senate.
It led me to the JudicialProceedings Committee where I
was a fellow in my graduateprogram, and that got me into
(23:14):
rooms where you're sitting withRepublican senators, Democratic
senators, you're hearing a bill,you're ingesting what it is, and
you have to anticipate.
What the objections are from theright and what the objections
are for the left.
You have to anticipate that andtry to come up with solutions
for the betterment of everyone'scommunity And everyone's
community has needs.
(23:35):
Everyone's community has value.
The difficult part in what I'velearned in my line of work is
what community, Why is there ahierarchy in so many varied
communities that share the sameissues?
That is what my path has led meto ask.
(23:56):
So yeah, from the Senate, Irealized that I wanted to focus
more on the Latino populationbecause I couldn't see my
identity in a lot of the billsthat I was doing.
I couldn't stand proudly and sayI was really fighting for my
community in the legislationthat was being passed because In
(24:16):
reality, as a first gen, no onereally knows how I feel except
for other first gens.
And this is why resources ofwhat you're doing right now,
Miguel, is so imperative for thefuture, because these are the
common foundations that we looktowards.
for guidance, for direction, andmy guidance and direction led me
(24:38):
towards the Maryland LegislativeLatino Caucus that led me to
you.
And so I will say that from thecaucus the director, the
executive director at that time,her name is Madeline Martinez.
She now works for CatholicCharities.
She was one of the best mentorsthat guide me towards Maryland
(24:58):
Latinos Unidos.
Where I'm able to do all of thework I just spoke to you about,
from DOJ components to theSenate to the caucus.
Now I'm able to do all thosethings.
Miguel Sanchez (25:11):
Based on all your experience and the work
you're doing now, what advice doyou have for first gen students
who are in school now?
Carlos Orbe, Jr. (25:21):
First gen advice for nowadays, I would
say, know what you want to dobefore you enter college.
And I know that's difficultbecause you heard me in the
beginning say that I wanted tobe a doctor, right?
But I think and this is the mostimportant thing I was fortunate
(25:44):
enough to have a mother thatchallenged me in so many
different ways growing up Iasked for a ps2 She gave me a
book about greek mythology I youknow and like those small
instances change everything inyour development.
(26:05):
So luckily for, because of mymother, I was able to challenge
myself in many different waysthat by the time I went to
college, yes, while med schoolwas completely off the table, I
always Was preparing for a minorstudy.
I was always putting classes inthe background that I knew Was
(26:27):
an itch that I wanted to scratchall my life But in order in
order for me to have been thebest version of myself back then
I wish I would have Opened up amic, turned on the camera, and
started speaking into it.
I wish I would have gotten toknow different parts of me in
uncomfortable situations,because you grow in discomfort.
(26:51):
And so if you're about to entercollege, you're about to be
uncomfortable every day.
And it's not like to scare you.
It's to challenge you.
And I think for the people thatrise to that occasion, that
arise to that challenge, youwill love what you see at the
end of that path.
(27:11):
find uh, You are people thatremind you of who you have been,
who you are, and what you wantto become.
And lastly, just one last thing,I will say, get into the arts.
(27:34):
Some form of arts mine waspoetry, right?
Granted because I had a bigstutter.
So I needed uh, to Poetry tohelp me with that, but it was
because of poetry It was becauseof the arts that helped me
remove the facade of societythat oh a man I had to follow a
certain path Because you willnever find who you are in the
(27:56):
paths that are already writtenout for you.
I think it's only Your trueidentity is forged in areas you
just throw yourselves in withoutquestioning.
Miguel Sanchez (28:08):
No, thank you, Carlos.
One of the things that I'mtaking away from, from today's
episode one, I need to go backand watch that Ted talk and I
will leave a link to that Tedtalk in the show notes.
So I'll connect with you Carloslater on so you can share with
me that link.
I thought that was a great wayto describe how to build
community.
Something else that I'm going totake away that I'm going to
(28:29):
apply it is writing that letterto yourself.
I think that's a really good wayto think about the past and
where you are now.
And then finally doing thingsthat are in discomfort.
You, we're going to grow in thiscomfort.
It's important to challengeourselves and equally important
to find people who are going tochallenge us.
(28:51):
Thank you for speaking with metoday, and I appreciate your
time.
Carlos Orbe, Jr. (28:54):
Thank you so much, Miguel, for all this.
Miguel Sanchez (28:56):
Thanks for listening.
If you enjoy the episode.
Subscribe to this podcast andshare it with a friend.
Don't forget to leave a review.
Until next time.
Welcome to first gen 1 0 1, the podcast
where first-generation graduatesshare their stories and career
tips.
I am your host, Miguel Sanchez.
In this episode, Carlos orbitjunior, a dynamic first gen
graduate.
He talks about his educationalpath.
The importance of mentorship.
(00:31):
And his impactful work withMaryland Latinos needles.
Dive into this episode todiscover how Carlos Bill's
bridges and drives change.
Welcome to another episode ofthe first gen one on one podcast
today.
I have Carlos, Carlos.
Thank you for being here today.
Carlos Orbe, Jr. (00:51):
Thank you so much for having me, Miguel.
This is awesome.
Miguel Sanchez (00:54):
We're going to get right into it.
We have a lot to talk about.
Carlos, tell me about yourbackground.
Carlos Orbe, Jr. (01:00):
Right?
So, my background as a firstgen, right?
My father was born in Ecuador.
I think it was along Salinas.
to be more specific.
he came here when he was abouteight years old with his other
family members that I thinkrange from seven kids.
They had, but you know, theycame in two parts.
(01:22):
He was among the last group tocome.
But my mother was actually bornin Washington, so then they had
me among two other, children.
and from there it was just avery, it was, obviously it was a
varied childhood that I lookforward to getting into.
It's filled with color, It'sfilled with culture.
(01:44):
It's filled with beautifulthings that I believe.
Make up the first gen experienceties into immigration, ties into
all these different things, allthese crazy themes right now
that we're experiencing in adifferent way.
Miguel Sanchez (01:59):
And where did you grow up?
Carlos Orbe, Jr. (02:02):
Locustdale Drive.
I remember the road nameclearly.
And then, my mother decided shewanted to move to the country.
So my father naturally thought,happy wife, happy life.
So we ended up moving toPoolsville area, which is right
near Frederick.
If people aren't familiar with,the territories around there.
Miguel Sanchez (02:24):
And that's Frederick Maryland,
Carlos Orbe, Jr. (02:26):
Yeah, Poolsville, Maryland, Frederick,
Maryland around there.
But more specificallyBealsville.
It's a small town.
I, I don't even know thepopulation number, but growing
up there was like one restaurantwhere you had a really good
time.
And then a gas pump and that wasabout it.
Miguel Sanchez (02:42):
So being from Maryland, how did you choose
Manhattan College?
And you can tell us a little bitabout the process of choosing to
attend Manhattan College.
Carlos Orbe, Jr. (02:53):
I can't talk about my college experience
without talking about my highschool, which was St.
John's College High School.
It is a part of a long standingtradition of Lasallian, Jesuit
and it's that history is so richin religion and, and their
different cultures that theyhave over there.
But I was blessed to be a partof a slash military school slash
(03:17):
college prep.
So the counselors really focusedon our trajectory.
Where do we see ourselves?
They would ask us questions thatwould really help us, identify
our our mastery over certainthings in high school as young
as you were there on thatfoundation.
It was so solidified.
(03:38):
through like those internalquestions as to who I am, what
do I want to do?
What is this school for me?
I decided that New York that wasan area where it was full of
energy.
It was the live city.
I knew that my extroversionwould be met there.
And so my counselor was a nobrainer, said Manhattan College.
It's a Lasallian institution,just like our high school was.
(04:02):
And From there it's, I was thereon a Lasallian scholarship
actually.
So that was what helped solidifythe bridge.
And, Manhattan college justchecked all the boxes at the
time.
Miguel Sanchez (04:15):
In the process of selecting Manhattan College,
did you consider other colleges?
How did that look like for
Carlos Orbe, Jr. (04:23):
Well, it's very important to gauge if you
want to be.
In, in a large universitysetting where you probably will
not be the main focus of yourteacher.
The curriculum will be a bitvaried.
It'll be different because ofthe large crowds.
Me, I know I wanted to focus ona small liberal arts college
(04:44):
There were, I think, tenstudents to one teacher ratio
going on, and I knew that Iwanted to engage with my with my
teachers.
Miguel Sanchez (04:55):
going to a smaller college can let you have
deeper connection connectionswith staff, faculty, and other
students because networking,it's a really important part of
the college experience.
You learn something and you'realso going to meet other people.
in that sense, how did you findyour community at Manhattan
college being that you were notfrom New York?
Carlos Orbe, Jr. (05:19):
Well, to be honest with you, I was was kind
of a social little butterflythat kind of had to spread his
wings because I thought it was awelcomed challenge to move to a
space.
You don't know anyone, but byGod, you have the will to do it.
my community was comprised ofsmall, different circles of
people.
(05:40):
that I wanted to either becomeor reminded me of a piece of
home.
And I think it's important forpeople to gauge this.
And I was looking at thequestions earlier and I totally
want to answer this like this.
It's just I heard aninspirational talk on Netflix
one time where the speaker poseda question to the audience and
it says, if you had a boat andthe world was ending, And there
(06:03):
were only 5 to 6 spotsavailable, your family was
already taken care of.
Who would you bring out of, yourfriends, acquaintances,
colleagues, everything, and,they answered the closest people
to them, you know, and he askedquestions.
I was like, what's, what arethese characteristic types?
What are, you know, and theysaid, Oh, they're this, they're
(06:24):
that.
And you come to find out theypicked all the same type of
person.
So for.
The message in that story was tosay each of these spots are
meant for a specific type ofindividual that brings out a
different life in you.
And, when you die, you'resurrounded by all the talents
and all the things that youcould have been all of your
(06:45):
goals, all your dreams.
What communities are yousurrounding yourselves with that
keep that alive?
And so my communities werecomprised pretty much of those
small individual aspects that Iwanted To be, as I grow older,
what's my five year vision, myten year vision of myself, so.
Having those great people aroundreally helped shape
Miguel Sanchez (07:05):
so it sounds like you really had, a clear
vision of what you were lookingfor, what type of school, what
were some of the challenges youfound as you started college?
Carlos Orbe, Jr. (07:18):
I will say that it was difficult because
for me, coming from a collegeprep school, coming from a Latin
culture there's a lot ofpressure put on you to become a
doctor, a lawyer all thesethings.
And it's common characteristicthat is shared in many minority
cultures here, you know?
And so I know it's, the same forthe Indian community, the Asian
(07:40):
community, so many differentvaried responses, but that's.
What I wanted to do.
I thought I had it all figuredout.
I know I no longer need to getthe advice of other people.
I'm just gonna go all in.
But in reality, that's possiblythe worst thing that you could
do for yourself.
I decided to join in pre med.
(08:02):
I wanted to be an orthodontist.
I wanted to be rich.
I wanted to take two weeks offfrom work every other week.
It was I had a vision, but then,my dad comes in and he says, you
know, you're extroverted.
You like to network.
You like to bring peopletogether.
Why haven't you thought aboutcommunications?
(08:23):
And then my mom snaps quicklyand says, no, he's going to be,
he's going to be a doctor.
And if He's not going to be adoctor.
He's going to be a lawyer.
I ended up pursuing a wrongfield that wasn't for me.
it's, it's important that yourecognize good things take time,
You need to wait and understandwhat is it that makes you smile?
(08:45):
What is it that makes you likeit doesn't feel like work?
And I know that's so cliche,it's so corny, it's, it's, it's
repeated, but that's also howimportant it is.
Miguel Sanchez (08:58):
that's a great point.
And speaking of finding itsounds like you're calling or,
or finding the career that makesyou happy.
So to speak, what was the roleof mentors in your, in your
process?
Did you have someone in collegeother than your parents who
(09:18):
said, try this career, thinkabout this, think about that.
What did that, how did that looklike for you?
Carlos Orbe, Jr. (09:23):
Mentorship was something that I always
strive to look for.
But here's the, here's thetrick.
I only interviewed mentors thatI would change places with them.
And that was from a familyperspective, that was from a
work perspective.
I wanted to look at the wholeperson.
And, so, to be in law, I waslike, okay, this is something
(09:45):
where I would want to interviewthe lawyers that, you know, I
saw in their specific field andtheir disciplines and then I
would want to have a I wouldjust want to have a mentor that
was well rounded, that had myoriginal thought processes that
I had going into this thing.
but mentors help guide anddirect you towards different
(10:10):
thoughts that you might havenever even thought of.
So it's important to have thatget into that pipeline and see
what you can find.
Miguel Sanchez (10:19):
That's a great point.
As you know, I work in lawschool admissions.
And one of the questions we askto prospective students, why do
you want to be a lawyer?
Is it to help people?
There are many ways you can helppeople that go beyond law or
could be done in other careers.
For those of you listening whoare interested in becoming
(10:39):
lawyers.
It's a great profession.
Be very clear on why you want topursue law or any other career.
And you mentioned a few otherexperiences and factors that I
want to touch on, and that'sregarding your, your graduate
degree, because not only did youcomplete a college, but you've
also completed a master'sdegree.
How was the master's in publicadministration program different
(11:05):
than your undergrad experience?
Carlos Orbe, Jr. (11:08):
I will say that my undergrad experience was
amazing towards the end.
They gave an opportunity whereyou, it was like a makeshift
choice if you wanted to be inthe classroom or if you wanted
to take an internship instead.
And I remember towards, the endof my junior year, going to
senior year, I was doing threeinternships.
(11:31):
You know, and To me, I neverlearned well in the classroom.
I wanted to get out there.
I wanted to actually understandthe real world.
And so because I was incommunications, I understood the
foundation of how I could usewhat I'm learning to, better
myself, better those around me.
And mostly like understand mycraft to manipulate it in
different ways.
(11:52):
Because communications is abase, but how you use it could
be, Yeah.
So, I will say that when I wasin my master's program, uh, and
I went to the University ofMaryland, I started out in
public policy.
because you have to choose aspecific field that you wanted
to go into.
And I was beginning to realize,like, this, this itch that I was
(12:15):
getting.
It was because I was back in theclassroom, and I had learned so
well just by being out there,getting in the noise that, I
struggled with that because fromfrom my standpoint policy is the
academia portion.
Right.
It's very important.
If you are like of thatintellectual capacity to absorb
(12:36):
all those words and see it.
But me, I was coming from thedirt.
I was coming from, hey, I havemy sleeves rolled up.
I'm looking to learn what youguys are teaching me.
And, for the most part, I lovedmy experience at University of
Maryland, but I realized I hadto pivot.
So I switched to Masters ofPublic Management.
And that is what I felt was theapplication process of all the
(12:58):
academia that I was learning.
considering myself a very actionforward person as I think many
in the Latino community are.
It's it was important for me tounderstand the different
learning environments and what Ididn't like and what I did like.
Miguel Sanchez (13:16):
How was the process of getting your first
job and how was that, how didthat lead to your current
position?
Carlos Orbe, Jr. (13:23):
I did my AmeriCorps year with the
Lasallian Volunteers, LasallianHeritage, that's that culture I
was telling you about.
And, I was stationed inPortland, Oregon, my original
position for this high schoolwas, An IT specialist and, you
know, on my application, I saidI worked for an IT for like a
(13:46):
month at college just to helppay the bills, so I felt like I
was ill prepared, but I signedup for this volunteer year
because I wanted to impactyounger audiences.
I wanted to engage with youngeraudiences.
younger kids that look like me,law was falling short, there was
still juvenile injustice, therewas still all these things, so I
said, I'm going to go directlyto a high school in need, in an
(14:07):
under resourced area, and I'mgoing to give my all to that.
And I was met with so muchhardship.
So much A lot of trials to testwhat ability do I have in
translating what I learned incollege and what I learned in my
(14:28):
childhood development growing upin under resourced areas.
How do I combine the two totranslate it to these kids?
And it didn't come through IT.
came through a poetry club thatI started, uh, and that is what
I consider my first job.
because it was one I was gettingpaid.
(14:49):
But two, it was the job thathelped me understand the
difference between a professionand a vocation.
And a vocation is where youdedicate yourself unwittingly.
You become obsessed and thattype of care, that type of
passion.
It exists.
It's out there.
And when we're younger,especially first gens, we're not
(15:14):
really introduced to this tothis fabric of reality.
We're so caught up in, no, wegotta be successful, we gotta do
this, we gotta do that, and itlooks like one specific lens.
And that's not true.
We are very dynamic.
And so, what that took me to isunderstanding policy, believe it
(15:34):
or not.
Because I had to work withdifferent mechanics in the
school.
In this poetry club, I made, Iposed a challenge to these young
poets that, remember, have gonethrough hell and back.
but I wanted them to showcasewho they were.
So my subject matter titleswould be Write a letter to your
unborn child, embody an emotionand personify it.
(15:56):
Tell me what is hate, what islaughter, what is all these
things.
And so these kids shocked me andthese were first gen students
too.
These were minority kids.
These were the outcasts ofsociety, which many times are
written off.
And to be quite frank, I believeI was one of those And so when
(16:19):
they.
Rose to that challenge.
I decided that I wanted to givethem a stage and Ergo went the
talent show, but the talent showWasn't as easy as it was I had
to talk to the president of theschool I had to talk to the
principal and at First they werelike no we can't do this because
of money.
I said don't worry about budgetI will speak and see what
resources we can allocate andsure enough the show got the
(16:44):
green light But Miguel, itdidn't stop there.
It was one of those things whereI had students help me say, Hey,
like this is a community thing.
What can we do to gather allthese people together?
And sure enough, it's Portland,Oregon.
The teachers are musicians aswell.
So I had the janitor at the timeof the school, a sanitation
(17:05):
engineer come to me and say,Hey, I'm in a band.
I hear your kids playinstruments.
You could use my instruments.
If you'd like, if we can have agig, I'm like a hundred percent.
The math teacher was a part of arap group.
He joined as well.
Collaboration with the art club.
It turned out to be one of themost beautiful shows and these
(17:26):
poets that I helped create or Ihelped forge, not create,
because they had that inthemselves.
They are now doing their ownthings.
Some are musicians, some haveembodied poetry.
So all this to bring back toyour question, it's important
that you understand what your,what your passions are and how
(17:50):
they align before picking yourfirst job.
Because it could lead to therest of your life in a beautiful
way, in a beautiful process.
Miguel Sanchez (17:59):
I love that you started something out of nothing
really, and I can tell thatcommunity organizing is really
in your heart.
It's, you correct me if I'mwrong, it sounds like that's
something that you reallyunderstand and you embody.
Tell me how that has translatedin your current work and how did
(18:22):
you get to your currentposition?
Carlos Orbe, Jr. (18:23):
Yeah.
So right now I am thecommunications and public
affairs specialist for MarylandLatinos, and needles, and this
is a dedicated nonprofit.
That truly tries and succeeds inbecoming the bridge, right?
The bridge between senators,house delegates, uh, leaders in
(18:46):
so many different facets ofsociety, You could say.
And we connect them to the bootson the ground, the street level
bureaucrats, the, the peoplethat are actually making the
difference day in and day out,years upon years, dedicating
themselves to communityorganizing to advocacy, and I
consider it to be an honor uh,to be among them.
(19:08):
But, what MOU does so well isthat cross collaboration, and me
in my specific role, Iintroduced these two parties
that seemed so distinct to cometogether for the benefit of the
community.
And that means that real lifechange is being made every day.
And I think it's the way that Igot there was through a varied
(19:31):
path, right?
I was lucky enough, uh, after mylaw studies And, everything, uh,
that were cut short in New York,um, I decided to come and,
dedicate myself to law in D.
C., because this is where Iwanted to set myself up.
and.
I was applying, Miguel, Iapplied to 236 law positions.
(19:54):
Now, I got interviews, I got,maybe I got like 10 interviews,
Didn't work out at any of them.
And then, my sister and my mom,they sat down with me because
they saw that I was, it's adepressing battle, to, to try to
translate your self worth on apiece of paper and to be
accepted.
But especially for a first genstudent, a first gen generation,
(20:18):
anything.
And so, my parents and my sisterwere like, You're selling
yourself too short.
Why don't you apply for yourdreams?
Like, why don't you just applyfor your dream law firm for this
government agency and all thesethings?
And I was like, you're notwrong.
You're not wrong.
If I'm getting rejected, whynot?
(20:39):
Fast forward two weeks later, Igot acceptance from the DOJ.
I got an interview with NSA.
It was, it's crazy what couldhappen when you set your sights
higher.
And so I ended up working forthe department of justice in the
healthcare fraud division.
And that was where I believed Icould fight For the average man
who was, you know, scamminginsurance and just the horror
(21:01):
stories that you would hear inthe cases that I had.
It just it defeats you.
But I understood the limitingfactors of only helping a
specific audience.
I understood that law is twopeople in a courtroom, playing a
game, right?
But policy and legislation arethe rules of the game that are
(21:21):
being written.
So you gotta have that chessvision, like I said before.
And so, I, grueling, it was agrueling process, but it was an
a journey.
Of education in so manydifferent lights.
And there were even lesson plansthat I didn't agree with from my
master's program, I believed,and this is important for people
(21:42):
to hear because in my trajectoryof getting to where I am, I had
to recognize the wrongs alongthe way there.
And for my master's program, wewere learning.
In the academia side, as I toldyou, policy, outdated measures
outdated banking systems,monetary policies, everything
that has led us to collapseafter collapse to the storm that
(22:06):
we are in right now.
And in my mind, I'm over herepracticing AI.
I'm over here studying cryptoblockchain technology, seeing
where it can take us.
Because what I'm trying topromote to my people and
Maryland Latinos Unidos andthese bridges is that we need to
attack literacy, financialliteracy.
We need to do math.
And so I'm trying to find a wayto revolutionize a traditional
(22:29):
model.
And it's.
it's.
sad because you begin tounderstand that the traditional
mindset is so entrenched in oureducation systems that it really
debilitates a young mind fromwanting to do real change, and
that's not a shot to anyspecific schools or anything.
(22:50):
It's just it's what I'm seeingin my community studies in the
data and the statistics in theeducation summits that I'm
working on now.
And so.
I say all this to now let youknow that I've, that work led me
to the Senate.
It led me to the JudicialProceedings Committee where I
was a fellow in my graduateprogram, and that got me into
(23:14):
rooms where you're sitting withRepublican senators, Democratic
senators, you're hearing a bill,you're ingesting what it is, and
you have to anticipate.
What the objections are from theright and what the objections
are for the left.
You have to anticipate that andtry to come up with solutions
for the betterment of everyone'scommunity And everyone's
community has needs.
(23:35):
Everyone's community has value.
The difficult part in what I'velearned in my line of work is
what community, Why is there ahierarchy in so many varied
communities that share the sameissues?
That is what my path has led meto ask.
(23:56):
So yeah, from the Senate, Irealized that I wanted to focus
more on the Latino populationbecause I couldn't see my
identity in a lot of the billsthat I was doing.
I couldn't stand proudly and sayI was really fighting for my
community in the legislationthat was being passed because In
(24:16):
reality, as a first gen, no onereally knows how I feel except
for other first gens.
And this is why resources ofwhat you're doing right now,
Miguel, is so imperative for thefuture, because these are the
common foundations that we looktowards.
for guidance, for direction, andmy guidance and direction led me
(24:38):
towards the Maryland LegislativeLatino Caucus that led me to
you.
And so I will say that from thecaucus the director, the
executive director at that time,her name is Madeline Martinez.
She now works for CatholicCharities.
She was one of the best mentorsthat guide me towards Maryland
(24:58):
Latinos Unidos.
Where I'm able to do all of thework I just spoke to you about,
from DOJ components to theSenate to the caucus.
Now I'm able to do all thosethings.
Miguel Sanchez (25:11):
Based on all your experience and the work
you're doing now, what advice doyou have for first gen students
who are in school now?
Carlos Orbe, Jr. (25:21):
First gen advice for nowadays, I would
say, know what you want to dobefore you enter college.
And I know that's difficultbecause you heard me in the
beginning say that I wanted tobe a doctor, right?
But I think and this is the mostimportant thing I was fortunate
(25:44):
enough to have a mother thatchallenged me in so many
different ways growing up Iasked for a ps2 She gave me a
book about greek mythology I youknow and like those small
instances change everything inyour development.
(26:05):
So luckily for, because of mymother, I was able to challenge
myself in many different waysthat by the time I went to
college, yes, while med schoolwas completely off the table, I
always Was preparing for a minorstudy.
I was always putting classes inthe background that I knew Was
(26:27):
an itch that I wanted to scratchall my life But in order in
order for me to have been thebest version of myself back then
I wish I would have Opened up amic, turned on the camera, and
started speaking into it.
I wish I would have gotten toknow different parts of me in
uncomfortable situations,because you grow in discomfort.
(26:51):
And so if you're about to entercollege, you're about to be
uncomfortable every day.
And it's not like to scare you.
It's to challenge you.
And I think for the people thatrise to that occasion, that
arise to that challenge, youwill love what you see at the
end of that path.
(27:11):
find uh, You are people thatremind you of who you have been,
who you are, and what you wantto become.
And lastly, just one last thing,I will say, get into the arts.
(27:34):
Some form of arts mine waspoetry, right?
Granted because I had a bigstutter.
So I needed uh, to Poetry tohelp me with that, but it was
because of poetry It was becauseof the arts that helped me
remove the facade of societythat oh a man I had to follow a
certain path Because you willnever find who you are in the
(27:56):
paths that are already writtenout for you.
I think it's only Your trueidentity is forged in areas you
just throw yourselves in withoutquestioning.
Miguel Sanchez (28:08):
No, thank you, Carlos.
One of the things that I'mtaking away from, from today's
episode one, I need to go backand watch that Ted talk and I
will leave a link to that Tedtalk in the show notes.
So I'll connect with you Carloslater on so you can share with
me that link.
I thought that was a great wayto describe how to build
community.
Something else that I'm going totake away that I'm going to
(28:29):
apply it is writing that letterto yourself.
I think that's a really good wayto think about the past and
where you are now.
And then finally doing thingsthat are in discomfort.
You, we're going to grow in thiscomfort.
It's important to challengeourselves and equally important
to find people who are going tochallenge us.
(28:51):
Thank you for speaking with metoday, and I appreciate your
time.
Carlos Orbe, Jr. (28:54):
Thank you so much, Miguel, for all this.
Miguel Sanchez (28:56):
Thanks for listening.
If you enjoy the episode.
Subscribe to this podcast andshare it with a friend.
Don't forget to leave a review.
Until next time.
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