Vanesa Carrillo: From the Border to Tech and the Start of Latinas & Lattes

Say hi or share a story!

In this episode, I sit down with Vanessa Carrillo, a first-generation Latina, product marketing manager at Microsoft, and founder of Latinas and Lattes, before she gets too big. We talk about navigating college, showing up in professional spaces, and finding our way through career and identity shifts.

Our conversation made me reflect on my own early 20s—especially now as I turn 30. We talk about growing up bilingual, being ESL kids, dealing with imposter syndrome, finding faith, and learning how to ask for help. Vanessa shares her journey from El Paso to Georgetown to working in tech, and how her experiences led her to create Latinas and Lattes, a nonprofit helping Latinas in Seattle connect and support one another.

We also talk about rejection, rest, and what it means to choose yourself when the world often expects you to shrink. Whether you're figuring things out at 23 or starting over at 30, this episode is your reminder that you're not behind—and you're definitely not alone and every Latino has their own story.

☕️ Enjoying the podcast?
Support La Chismosa del Valle on Buy Me a Coffee so I can keep telling stories from our community. Every cafecito helps cover production costs and keeps this space going for everyday Latinos doing dope things.

https://buymeacoffee.com/la_ameriquita

Support the show

Help shape future episodes!

Leave a voicemail or shoot us a text. I actually wanna hear from you! I like constructive criticism.

Follow along on TikTok and Instagram: @la_ameriquita, @lachismosadelvalle

Episode Transcript

SPEAKER_00 (00:01):
Okay, really quick, before we get into today's
episode with Vanessa Carrillo, Iwant to take a moment to say
thank you to everyone whoreached out after the last
episode.
Your messages truly meant a lotto me, especially because, well,
when I started this podcast, Ireally, really did not want to
change my, and it's frying upright now as we speak, my tone

(00:29):
of voice.
Yeah, I didn't want to changethe dialect.
I didn't want to change much ofit because, you know, that's
usually what they kind of teachyou in journalism school is, you
know, work on your speech, workon this, you know, go up there
and give us the best voice youhave.
And I love that.
And I understand definitely why,you know, you need that.

(00:50):
But to me, the Valley Girlaccent was always very, very
important.
important especially because itwas always kind of seen as like
oh you're just not professionalenough or you know they would
kind of it would kind of seem aslike they would make fun of us
like we sounded dumb um And so Igot a message that said, it was
honestly refreshing listening tosomeone who sounds like me,

(01:12):
especially living in a whitecity, talking about issues that
directly affect us.
And I think, honestly, when Iread that, I, it was like, this
is, this is, I don't know ifshe's talking about, you know,
how passionate me and my friendare about this topic and
conversation or just like ourvocal, our vocals, right?
This person's also fromCalifornia.

(01:33):
And so I was just like, Yeah,this is really important.
This is why I did that.
Like, because if you grow up inLos Angeles, and then you grow
up in the surrounding of LosAngeles, well, then you know, if
you know, you know, you know, ifyou're not from Los Angeles,
you're not from California, thenyou have no idea if we're
talking about you're basingeverything off the media and off
whatever Hollywood is showingyou.

(01:55):
And I'm gonna tell you that,like, it's, it's like, I don't
know, it's beautiful.
It's beautiful.
And it's dirty.
And it's at the same time, Idon't know how to tell you this.
Okay.
But Yeah, that message really,it really meant a lot to me.
And it was really funny.
I adopted a Theo Rick here.
He was one of the very fewLatinos that would go into the
bar when I was bartending.

(02:15):
And yeah, we just got alongbecause I just love connecting
like with other Latinos who alsojust want to, you know, learn
more about their story and theirhistory, especially if they grew
up in a state or in a town thatwas majorly white.
And a lot of our history ishidden.
And so, you know, I shared thisepisode with my Theo Rick and
he's like, When I was listeningto your guys' voice, I couldn't

(02:37):
tell who was who.
He's like, I had to remember.
Okay, she's talking about thebar and she's talking about
marketing.
And so I thought it was reallyfunny.
And I'm like, I don't know.
I love it.
I love my accent.
I don't want it to go anywhere.
But I guess if I have to, itwill have to.

(03:05):
Regardless, that message really,really meant a lot to me and
thank you but yeah i thinkthat's just like a good example
on you know why it's soimportant to find your voice and
learn how to use it and not beafraid to use it you know your
voice is so important even if itfries up and it cracks mine

(03:26):
cracks all the time i alsoreally really really really want
to think because um you guys asyou guys know why it's not a fun
time for me right now i useactually if you guys can notice
i have a new mic i I used mylast couple of bucks to get
myself a new mic because my lastone broke.
And with that said, I actuallyreally, really want to thank
those who helped contribute toLa Chismosa del Valle through

(03:48):
Buy Me a Coffee.
You guys really helped keep thisshow going.
Like, really, for real.
One of the reasons that I couldrelease this right now.
And yeah, so a special shout outto my girls, Medium, Suli, and
Hailey.
You girls are all independentartists.
You also get the struggle.
You get it.
You know, Hailey is anindependent journalist as well.

(04:09):
is an artisan artist I had tosay it like that I'm so sorry I
don't know why I have to likeput in the little the little uh
accent and then yeah you guysmet my girl medium last week or
two weeks ago so thank you girlsum I really really appreciate
that and I cannot wait to seewhat all of you all of us do and

(04:30):
you know supporting each othergirls supporting each other we
love that another person I wantto thank is Vanessa herself
she's the guest on my show forthis episode some of my personal
friends may not know her yet butthis is a girl i can feel like
we're all going to be workingfor someday and i think that's
why i felt a little rush topublish this episode as soon as
possible vanessa is founder oflatinas in lattes which is a

(04:51):
non-profit organization thathelps latinas connect with one
another and empowers them byhosting events from coffee dates
to workshops that could beanything from like real estate
or you know how to get into gradschool it's been a great way for
people who are new to seattle tomake friends because the seattle
freeze is And it's very hard tomeet people who are open to

(05:14):
change, I guess.
But this has been a really greatway to find other, you know,
fun, wonderful people who arealso looking for other Latinas
to connect.
You know, not everybody in thechat is from out of town.
A lot of people just grew up inWashington and are just
generally wanting to connectwith more Latinas.
And I think that this chat hasbeen great for that.
It's also been great for smallbusiness owners.

(05:36):
In fact, when I dropped that, Iwas going to be doing more
independent things everyone wasso supportive and Vanessa even
reached out to see if I neededany help with marketing and I
was like actually girl I wasgoing to talk to you and see if
you would be down to come on theshow because I think you are a
baddie in tech which I now knowwe can thank Raven-Symoné for
it.

(05:57):
And she was so kind and she saidyes and took time out of her
very busy schedule to have thisinterview and just give us her
story on how she overcame somestruggles in school and is now
working in corporate marketing.
But yes, this was recorded wayback in May.
And honestly, I should haveasked her how she makes time for

(06:18):
herself, actually, because assoon as I got out of the phone
with her, my life just gotextremely hectic.
And very last minute, like a lotof things in entertainment.
I, you know, had the opportunityto go and fly back to LA and
help at Leleaf, which is a filmfestival for Latino filmmakers.
Since leaving the industry, itcan feel a little sad to not be
so close to it anymore.
So I try to find things that Ican do to participate, but I did

(06:41):
only have like one week tofigure out like, how am I going
to afford this?
And how am I going to feedmyself while I'm there?
Luckily, I grew up in Californiaand never had money.
So it did not feel any differentbeing there with very little
money.
And I already knew how tosurvive.
And shout out to the filmfestival for feeding us because,
well, that's how I survived myweek.

(07:02):
And I snuck into the afterparties.
And so I didn't have to pay fordrinks.
No, but on a serious note, thankyou, Lalif, for the opportunity.
And I hope to be welcome backnext year.
And I'm sorry to all thebartenders that I could not tip.
I hope they tipped well.
And then as soon as I got back,I got let go and then the ICE
ratings happened and I was justkind of frozen.

(07:26):
To be fair, I think I was alsocoming out of a bit of a
hypomanic episode, and it hasjust kind of been a really weird
time right now.
Time is just weird.
On top of that, I also had tomake kind of an executive
position.
Eventually, I was like, wait,hold on.
This is kind of my show.
Because with everything going onwith the ratings and everything,

(07:46):
I was like, I have to bring onmedium.
This is timely when it comes tonews.
And honestly, I think it fitsthe format of my show now
because I feel If I started offwith this episode, I would have
just come on here and sounded alittle manic.
And now that you have a littlecontext about what happened in
my last episode, I think you canlisten to this episode and
understand why I'm talking sofast, I guess.

(08:10):
Also, at the end of the day, Ireally think Vanessa and I, we
touched on faith in thisepisode.
And I think God wanted me tolisten to this episode again.
I'm not gonna cry I'm not gonnacry um I'm not gonna cry because

(08:31):
it's a good thing turning 30 issuch a good thing you know and I
think when I if I could go backand just like tell my 23 year
olds sell something is um one uhdo not be too quick to judge
anybody who is 29 and not in aplace where society expect them
to be because life is gonnahumble you girl but also do not

(08:54):
be a afraid to ask questions andaccept help maybe this will make
sense to you guys uh towards theend of the episode but that was
me if you know me i have eversince i was in you know a kid i
have had a hard time asking forhelp and even asking questions
because in my household i wasalready supposed to know that
and if i didn't know that thenyou know and so yeah i look back

(09:18):
at my early 20s like i feel likelast week was a reflection of
just looking back at my 20s andyou know right now I'm not
exactly in the place I want tobe.
You know, nobody wants to be 30and unemployed.
But it is also, I feel like thepush that I had needed and
always needed.
And I also think about timingbecause, you know, when I was 23

(09:38):
years old, I was entry level inone of my dream corporate
companies.
And at the same time, I rememberhaving to make a really hard
decision, even just going intothat dream company because I was
going to take a pay cut.
I was working at an attorney'soffice as a legal assistant and
for once I was making money thatI can actually like support

(09:59):
myself and at least pay my rentand I just remember you know
getting the job interview andthen getting the job and being
told one it's going to betemporary you know two we're not
going to pay you that much butyou know you have potential to
grow and all that stuff and Iremember being so torn because
you know you grew up in animmigrant household you don't

(10:20):
have money you know And so, youknow that like taking a pay cut
is like the dumbest thing youcould fucking do.
But at the same time, I, holdon, I'm gonna

SPEAKER_02 (10:42):
pause this.

SPEAKER_00 (10:44):
But at the same time, you know, I was working
towards my dream and I knew thatlike how, this company would
look on my resume, could open upthe doors for the future, right?
I guess I just was also just notexpecting everything that kind
of happens after you turn 25.
And, you know, I finally didaccept help and finally got the

(11:05):
proper diagnosis.
But with that, it was also, youknow, hey, you have been
overworking yourself.
Like, congratulations.
Like, you've been going toschool, working two jobs, and
doing an internship.
But that's, like, actually whatis killing you.
And, uh, You know, sometimes ittakes, unfortunately, something
like that to also reflect and belike, oh, my God, yeah, I'm

(11:26):
working so much.
Y mi familia también estátrabajando mucho.
Que, like, now I'm not evenenjoying it.
I'm not even enjoying time withmy friends.
I don't even see my family.
And, you know, like, I do wantmy dream.
And I do.
But at the same time, it's,like, taking such a toll on me.
And that didn't say, like, Igave up, you know.
Pero I had to learn how to rest.

(11:47):
I had to learn how to rest.
And it's something that in theLatino community we don't get
taught you know and so I guessthe last couple of years I have
just been maybe not the bestlike my work ethic has not been
the best but at the same timelike like I just wanted to chill

(12:07):
I still managed to get myselfinto the rooms I got myself into
regardless I still had workedreally hard I still got my
degree even when everybody waslike you shouldn't go to school
this is so um just get intoworking something like you know
and that was kind of myreflection last week still like

(12:28):
that's kind of why I wanted tobring Vanessa on the show as
well because I think it's reallyimportant to know and understand
that every Latino has their ownstory every Latino has their own
path and I think the UnitedStates are usually white people
like to clutter us into one andwe're not like we're all very
very different and hopefully youguys can listen to this

(12:48):
interview and you guys can seelike we both had very different
stories but we share the samestruggles and you know at the
end of the day like when theytell us no like we still push
through you know we still find away like i love you bestie my
bestie bianca shout out to hertoo and she was like you know

(13:11):
america like you've always hadto strategize your entire life
you know and girl i know i'm notsaying like word by word like
what you're saying but like thisis what i took from it Because I
was undocumented, I've alwayshad to strategize my entire
life.
And so I've had to learn toeither find the loopholes or
find a way to get what I wantwhen I'm being told no.

(13:33):
And I think sometimes that canchange my little attitude as
well.
Because something I learned isthat I was just in survivor
mode.
And honestly, that stuff sucks.
So honestly, thank you, Vanessa,for taking your time and
speaking with me because I justwant you to know that while I
was asking these questions andjust interviewing you.
I almost felt like I needed tobe mentored by you.

(13:54):
I was like, this is my thing.
I need to be mentored by her.
And that's like, honestly, justsomething that like I was afraid
to ask for in college.
And so I look at you and theyounger generation of people who
are coming up and startingorganizations and empowering
other Latinos.
And I love it.
I mean, this is what I wish Icould have been doing in my

(14:15):
early 20s.
It's just every time, you know,I tried to get into organizing,
like the social justice angerwould come out, which is a
bipolar so it was a lot but Iknow that like if I you know had
Vanessa's positive energy Iprobably wouldn't I probably

(14:35):
would have been CEO of NBC andDisney by now just saying just
saying just saying maybe I'mmaybe I'm maybe I'm talking a
little maybe that's the manic inme but one thing that I have
really appreciated is you knowmy friends who have seen the
hard work I have done becausehere I feel like I I'm just not
working as hard but I know backhome it was you know work work
work which is also just thedifference between LA and

(14:56):
Seattle's mentality so yeahthank you Vanessa again for
starting this organization andjust speaking with me because
you did actually made me get offmy ass basically um and I really
really needed that um and as faras for networking uh your space
is also giving me a place tolearn how to network because I
was a kid at the family partiesthat like wasn't coming out of

(15:16):
her room and often it wasbecause I was always constantly
being criticized by my mom'sfriends and I just didn't really
want to deal with it and anotherword it's just like I was just
really shy right and I hate thatI brought that into my
adulthood.
Because growing up, networkingis big, big, big.
They emphasize that in school.
And I was in an industry where Igrew up with people who wanted

(15:36):
to work in the entertainmentindustry.
work in the entertainmentindustry or have family in the
entertainment industry and whenyou grow up with hard-working
parents who are janitors andthey don't have any connections
into the industry you know youhave to work 10 times harder but
then you also get put into thesesettings and then sometimes i
don't know i personally feellike my manners just go out the

(15:59):
window i know i'm like reallyexcited to be talking to someone
and be there but i'm also likefreaking out on the inside and
so i either like talk too muchto kind of avoid that or don't
and it just it's a thing andthen i start like trying to pick
up social cues and it's just notit's not fun when you're you
know and you're a divergentbaddie and on top of that i just

(16:20):
feel like sometimes thatindustry gets toxic because they
only care about names and moneywhich i know that is everywhere
but it really does ruin a lot ofthe arts sometimes i would say
is why i feel like everybody'scomplaining about movies like
we're not getting good moviesand all that stuff there's a
whole system that has made itvery hard for very talented

(16:43):
creators and people who havegreat ideas to just, you know,
land there.
So that's another reason why Iwas very excited when I heard
about La Leaf, the filmfestival, because again, they
match my values.
They're also about helpingLatinos reach their goals in a
system that makes it very, veryhard for us to move up.
So I'm finally going to stoptalking and we're going to get

(17:05):
into our interview.
I don't have any advice ormentoring things to tell you
guys because I don't really feellike I'm the best to do that
right now.
So I will just, if you knowanybody there is like freaking
out about turning 30.
I'm just going to tell you guyswhat my boss told me when I came
up to her with my dilemma about,you know, leaving my legal

(17:27):
assistant job to work for mydream corporate company.
And, you know, she told me thatmy 20s are meant to be broke and
that I was supposed to makereally hard decisions, but that
your 30s do get better.
And for the most part, the moneystarts flowing and you have a
better, clear sense of directionof what you want in life.
And honestly, I just reallyneeded that at that time,

(17:48):
because again, I I was afraid toask for help.
So hearing that just gave me theease I needed.
And I just kept telling myselfthat every time I had to make a
hard decision in my 20s.
And now, yeah, I'm 30 and Ihave, you know, a much, much
better direction of what I want.
Something that I've alwaysactually always wanted.
I just didn't really even knowhow to get there.
I've never been fired.
And so maybe you do need to getfired to get to where you want

(18:10):
to be.
And yeah, the only thing I cansay, guys, have fun.
Enjoy your 20s.
If you have money, like enjoyit.
If you don't have money, enjoythat too.
Because...
It's not cute when you're 30 andbroke.
But yeah, just have fun, enjoyit, you know?
And I would say always justchoose you, I guess, because men
come and go, but this is yourlife.

(18:31):
This is your future, you know?
And I also have like fallen inand out of love and made
decisions based off that.
And like at the end of the day,it's like, we're here, you know?
So, and this is just to anybody.
This isn't even to like Vanessaherself.
If she wants to take it, she cantake it.
But I can't wait to see whereyou are when you are 30.
I can see you doing great thingsand then you know what if you do

(18:53):
need to rest that's cool too.
By the way I remember thequestion I actually wanted to
ask you kind of as a joke butalso seriously when you told me
what school you went to.
Do you know Kara Swisher?
Only asking because I love herand she's like one of my
favorite tech journalists so...
I don't know.
I'm just kidding.
I'm just kidding.

SPEAKER_01 (19:12):
I'm just going to share her story now.
What made you want to start thispodcast?
Cause I, I love this idea.
Like I haven't seen too manylike Latina podcasts, but I
don't know if I can get into itlater.
Yeah,

SPEAKER_00 (19:23):
no.
Oh my God.
Yes.
Basically kind of like, I feellike you and I are gonna relate
on the same reasons on why westarted what we started.
It was the same thing.
I felt like growing up, I wouldhear or listen to a lot of of
latino media and a lot of umenglish both english and spanish

(19:44):
media i didn't feel wellrepresented in english media
though like i would see a lot oflatinos but we were still kind
of seen as like second classcitizens in the media and so and
then in spanish media there waspeople you know obviously like
latinos but i didn't see them belike dark skin that much so yeah

(20:04):
that kind of but the thing aboutme is like i always wanted to be
radio anyways ah yeah yeah yeahyeah and so I never really
wanted to be like on camera butit's just nice to know that like
you know we just need more likejust just taking up spaces which
is I think something that Ilearned yesterday it was so nice

(20:24):
to see you yesterday I know Iloved it I went in I was kind of
hoping to pitch something thisyear but I went I was dabbling
between two business ideas thatwhen it came down to it I was
like let me just go go see howthey're doing, see what they're
doing.
And then I actually walked outwith a much better idea,

(20:46):
something that kind of combinesboth of the things I want to do.
And it was amazing because I gotto talk to, I think she's on the
board member.
And so I don't know, it wasamazing just talking and
networking.
And she was the one that waslike, you should really branch
out and actually start doingthis.
This is actually a really goodidea.
And I'm like, yeah, you'reright.

(21:06):
Why am I waiting for somebodyelse when I can just do it
myself?
So that's a lot.
So right now, so I did want tostart like a media company, like
something along that side ofmedia or a creative agency.
But at the same time, anotherthing that I was kind of looking
into was like a kind of aspeakeasy bar.

(21:27):
However, there was a lot ofthings once I got into the
alcohol industry that I likelearned that I was like, that's
gonna make things so muchdifficult.
But when I was talking tosomeone yesterday, they brought
up I was talking to them aboutthe situation that I was that
was happening at work.
And they were like no it makessense what you're trying to say
makes sense why don't you justmake something why don't you
make your own brand why don'tyou just make your own brand or

(21:47):
something and i was i would solove to see that yeah and i was
like yeah because i think thereis like a lot of there's a good
target audience for craft latinolovers and like there's just a
whole thing there's we we gotreally into it and she walked
out and she was like you ibetter see you pitching this uh
this idea in october and i couldsee that wait

SPEAKER_01 (22:08):
i could see that the going to like support in any way
yes that would be so cool to seeyou there like full circle
moment like I know and then nowyou're like pitching are they
doing another one in or are yougoing to the California

SPEAKER_00 (22:23):
I'm going to the

SPEAKER_01 (22:24):
Portland

SPEAKER_00 (22:24):
one I don't know when the LA one is but if I
could because that's whereoriginally if I wanted to do the
speakeasy that's where I wantedit to be anyways but so okay
about a year ago I moved toWashington and I refused to make
any friends because I was sostubborn and And I'm also
delusional.
And I'm like, in my head, moneyis going to magically appear.
And I'm going to move back toCalifornia.

(22:45):
So there's no point in makingfriends.
And then my mom was like, no,you need to get out of the house
and start making friends.
Go join a Facebook group.
And I dabbled along someFacebook groups.
In a Facebook group, someonedropped a chat and was like,
hey, for any Latinas out there,we have this community, Latinos
and Lattes.
You guys should join.
Follow us on Facebook.
Follow us on our WhatsAppchannel, which I thought was

(23:07):
very interesting at the time.
But now I'm like, oof.
I love this.
Now I'm here and I get tointerview.
Oh my God, this is exciting.
Today I'm joined by VanessaCarrillo, a first-gen Latina and
a product marketing manager intech.
She's also the founders ofLatinas and Lattes, a community
created to build friendships,spark conversations, and uplift

(23:28):
other Latinos through fun,empowering meetups and just
shared experiences.
So I'm really excited to justdive deep into your story today,
Vanessa, and just get to knowyou a little bit.
So tell us, Vanessa, how, tellus, where's your family from?
Let's start with that.
Where's

SPEAKER_01 (23:45):
your family from?
Of course.
No, first of all, thank you somuch again, America, for
inviting me.
It's honestly truly an honor tobe like also interviewed by
another Latina who's trying toreally make a mark on our
community.
Porque I feel like if we don'tdo it, if we don't, then who
else is going to do it andrepresent?
So to give you a little bit ofbackground.
So I was born in El Paso, Texas.
I don't know if you know whereEl Paso, Texas is, but it's

(24:07):
right near the border of Mexico.
My parents are from there, fromMexico.
I grew up kind of back and forthin both areas because my
grandparents were from there.
And so I grew up multiculturalin the border.
Speaking Spanglish, Spanish wasmy first language.
So I was an ESL kid.
I would say growing up in thatborder town region really
exposed me to just like newideas, but also like to see what

(24:30):
our community experiences on aday-to-day basis.
Porque es super different livingin the border versus living in
like Seattle or living in likeother places outside of like the
border region and I would justsay I think like one thing that
I got from living in El Paso isjust like it really taught me my
upbringing how to be resourcefulto give back pero también to

(24:51):
dream big porque living in theborder you just see so many
immigrants pero también o seaLatinos who are hustling day in
day out I see people crossingthe border like nosotros lo
hacíamos to wake up let's justsay at 5 a.m to cross the border
for two hours stand in line andthen to to go to school.
And so it was a struggle.

(25:12):
I grew up like humblebeginnings.
Papas were honestly like comingwithout any job, any like
probably like$5 in their pocketsand not knowing the language.
I feel like that was a barrier.
Grew up like translating legaldocuments from my mom.
We lived in a one bedroomapartment.
We also had like, I guess likefinancial assistance from like
the government.
And so it was just like, youdidn't know where you're, I

(25:33):
don't know, in like a week, ifwe would have a meal on the
table, it was a struggle.
And I guess like, I don't know,don't share that often um with a
lot of people that don't know mebut but yeah just not knowing if
i don't know maybe like in twotwo years if you were going to
stay in el paso or if we weregoing to go back to mexico and
so yeah very humble beginningsbut it really motivated me to
want to do something out of mylife and to do it for my parents

(25:57):
but eventually to like i don'tknow do something in some shape
or form i just felt like ineeded to do something as a
latina and like the daughter ofmy mom who has gone through so
many trials and tribulations andhas yet still not given up.
But yeah, just that's a longform of answer.
But yeah, let me know the answerto the question.

SPEAKER_00 (26:15):
No, it did.
You said you were an ESL kid.
So was I.
Do you think that you struggledwith that growing up?
Do you think that that struggledin your educational and your
career?
I

SPEAKER_01 (26:26):
did actually.
I was also dyslexic.
I don't share that with a lot ofpeople, but that brought about a
lot of challenges and obstacleswith that because I would
struggle a lot with math andEnglish and just understanding
the language.
Like in English, I would mix upcertain words and letters and I
guess there was just not enoughresources to help with that
process like and for my parentsto understand what that meant

(26:48):
what was dyslexia like whatbeing an ESL meant and so I
would struggle a lot like Iwould know what to do with some
subjects and I'd be like oh likemom like how do I do this type
of homework and so I wouldalways be after school asking
for tutoring even if I didn'tlike require it I was just like
I need this like I in order forme to understand like I don't

(27:08):
know let's just say calculus orsomething um or algebra but it
really it really shaped me likejust being ESL like as you as
you know America I don't know ifyou had the same experience like
you have to juggle like twolanguages but also the school
system and I don't know in Texasgrowing up we didn't have a lot
of resources I was I'm alow-income elementary school and

(27:28):
those schools they didn'tprovide a lot of funding for
support for tutoring and so yeahI don't know if you had the same
experience America like inCalifornia growing up ESL

SPEAKER_00 (27:37):
yeah no I did have not the similar experience.
And it was, I also translateddocuments for my parents as
well.
So that would come in, you know,my parents would be like, you
should, you should know this bynow.
And then they'd be like, youshould also know this by now.
And I'm struggling to deal withboth really big words.
And then my school, I actually,I always say I got the best of

(28:02):
both worlds because growing upin the valley like I, and then
growing up in the suburbs, theeducational systems were very
different.
In high school, I would say Iwas a little more privileged,
but I still, struggled with.
I didn't have to take those ESLclasses like in middle school.

(28:25):
But I think there was also ahigher like expectation, like
you should already know how toread at a higher level.
And I would feel less than if Icouldn't read at a higher level
than my peers could.
And I felt really dumb for thelongest time.
Yeah, gosh, I don't know how toread.
And then I would consider myselfilliterate because I was like, I
don't know how to read.

(28:45):
It was the same thing.
As I got older, I realized like,you know, I had like, you know,
a little learning disability andI also struggled with math and I
also struggled not so much withEnglish but math and math and
science but like you know andit's it was hard how did you get
through that how did you getthrough dealing with the English
part in math and

SPEAKER_01 (29:03):
I feel like I I had to okay so I One thing that
helped was like reaching out toget like help from professors
because I don't know if you hadthis in growing up, but like
there were ESL professors thatwould stay after hours to like
help certain kids.
And so I would be that oneperson that always stayed after
school on Wednesdays and my momwould like pick me up after and

(29:25):
she would understand like Ineeded that extra help.
And I feel like my mom'ssupport, I feel like that helped
me.
Even though she didn'tunderstand English, she would
help advocate so that theteachers could stay after
school.
with me and in high school Ijoined this program called TRIO.
It should still be in place inlike several different like
low-income areas but it'sbasically a program where high

(29:47):
school students take likecollege level classes to prepare
them for college and it's forfree for low-income families.
That helped me apply toscholarships and understand what
the FAFSA process was.
It helped me see like mypotential and the fact that I
was like you know what I feellike I could strive to apply to
a big college or university orprivate university like
Georgetown and and that helpedguide me and I was like you know

(30:10):
what let me apply to all thesescholarships it allowed me to
get like a full ride for mycollege and that it's just
mentorship honestly like gettingmentorship asking for help I was
that one kid who just like I didnot bother like I just had no
shame in going up to theprofessor and asking like why is
that the answer like I justdon't get it like I you know
that one kid yeah askingquestions like it would be like

(30:32):
a shame like not shame but likeI felt bad asking so many
questions but at the same timelike I gonna judge me you know
what I mean for asking questionslike I feel like that I don't
know alone is like a superpowerjust asking questions gets you
more informed and that's likehow you know and how you like
gain knowledge how you becomebetter it's just like practice
and asking questions

SPEAKER_00 (30:50):
no yeah I completely agree I wish I guess going back
to the whole resources thingwhen I was in high school we had
obviously the counselors but wedidn't have the same there was
I'm a DACA so I didn't have theresources it was basically like
okay you're gonna go to collegeor you're not gonna go to
college and if they knew youweren't going to go to college
and they saw that you didn'thave the grades you could tell

(31:11):
that they weren't going to likepay attention to you that
demotivates you a little bit butI love that you're so right I
wish I was that was one of mything that my teachers would say
so learn to ask more questionsAmerica so you're so right like
just you know just going outthere and that is something I
always tell like anyone likebecause I feel like I see that

(31:33):
too I don't know how I was inyour community but in my
community it was my communitywas primarily white and they it
was kind of expected for Latinosnot to graduate high school I
don't know if that was the samefor your kind of area but it
also like I guess is what pushedme to kind of keep going because
I was like I don't yeah like Ican't let these people like like

(31:57):
let them think that like ohshe's not she's really not gonna
graduate and it was the samething for college it was like
okay like I'm in college now andbut like what do you

SPEAKER_01 (32:05):
do it's a what do you do yeah like you say exactly
what i experienced like beingfirst gen like not a lot of
people talk about that butthere's a struggle with being
first gen and then once you getinto college like what do you do
no one guides you okay you gotin hooray how do you pass those
classes and how how do you getthrough i don't know like camp

(32:26):
uh calculates and chem and biowhich by the way was a whole
story in its own thing that'swhy i did not become a bio major
it'll say it was like juststruggling once i got into my
college i was like how do ithere was a culture shock i was
so depressed my first yearamerica i moved down to my house
when i was like 17 becausethat's when i graduated and i

(32:48):
was just like very young i hadno idea what i was doing i had
never been away from my familylike ever and so moving across
the country to like washingtondc where i was like everyone was
so privileged like they all camefrom wealthy backgrounds prep
schools they paid like 30kannual tuition for high school
and i'm like i'm like i couldnot fathom that how how do you

(33:09):
even start to begin with likenavigating college classes the
rigor everyone it was like thetop of their class and i was
just like not preparedwhatsoever to like i yeah i also
had to learn how like how tocook and everything and just
like there's so many little ittybitty things that no one talks
about once you leave your homeand and just like i would cry
every night i'd be like i justwant to go home i just i don't

(33:29):
know if i'm fit in here everyoneis so smart and imposter
syndrome hit me and it's just ithink honestly like like growing
within my faith really helped melike move forward and just like
just get the degree like justgraduate

SPEAKER_00 (33:42):
yeah no that's what I was gonna say well first of
all I that was gonna be one ofthe questions was just you know
describing your experience as afirst-gen Latina navigating and
how did you navigate throughcollege how was like I know you
said that you didn't have muchguide but did you did you end up
just like how did you end upfinding a mentor or what how did
you end up navigating throughcollege what was your major in

(34:05):
it anyway

SPEAKER_01 (34:05):
yeah so I majored in marketing minor in italian and
sociology and i would saynavigating i didn't know what i
wanted to major in i didn't knowwhat type of job i wanted to to
graduate with i just knew iliked storytelling like i love
that process of storytellingcommunications i knew i was good
at it and i was like you knowwhat a mentor in college my
first year seminar uh classprofessor was like lean into

(34:27):
your strengths my equal he waslike if you want to do a career
and like let's just say you wantto do yeah for sure you want to
do like i don't know be a realstage but if you don't have
those skill sets that you canbuild those skill sets but like
lean into something that you'rereally good at and find I don't
know a way to like really weaveit into what you can become like
a career out of it and so Ithought I was just like very
well skilled in communications Iwas like you know what let me

(34:49):
let me look into marketing aprofessor told me to look into
marketing careers in in techcame after I started networking
so I built a foundation withmentors professors going to
office hours that really helpedme and then chatting with alumni
from my university so Iconnected with a lot of girls
who had graduated fromgeorgetown and i like kind of
cold messaged them on linkedin iwas like i am graduating in like

(35:10):
three years i know it's farahead but we'll love to do a
quick like i don't know 15minute chat and so that actually
opened doors to microsoft that'show i learned about the the
product marketing managerrotation program at microsoft
and i was like oh this actuallysounds like pretty good like
such a good opportunity and i'ma big proponent on like things
happen for a reason and if theuniverse wants you to follow
that path doors will open and ii just i whenever i see an

(35:34):
opportunity i try knock on thatdoor if it closes on me then
another one will open and i justkind of choose to take that
outlook because if i stumbleupon something and i have it
kind of like um i would what'sthe word if i have something an
object or an obstacle detainedlike i wouldn't say detained but
then i continue with somethingelse because it's all about how

(35:55):
you jump back from where youwere that really matters what
you do with like how you respondto failure that really helped me
see like i don't know i don'tknow if that makes sense but i
guess i learned a lot lot frommy mentors on that like how to
really bounce back and if onething is a no then some other
opportunity will come and sayyes and if it wasn't for you
then there's a reason whybecause something better is

(36:16):
coming or something aredirection redirection is like
what what is it um motivationfor something else or yeah no

SPEAKER_00 (36:23):
no i know i'm like dealing with that too so i'm
like yeah no and i've gotten somany like rejections in my life
too but i don't even take themas like like i don't even get
hurt anymore i'm like i knowwhere this i'm like this is
gonna go somewhere good i knowthis but yeah i guess only
really the reason i just bringthis up exactly like just there
i i i've always speak to and iwas one of those two like

(36:44):
latinas who just felt like icouldn't even go go to college
like college was just not gonnabe a mean for like a me thing
and that i couldn't even like iwas surprised that i even
finished high school i wassurprised that i even finished
college and stuff so what likewhat kind of tips do you have
for people out there who aremaybe are like kind of scared
they're they're scared to dabbleinto the educational world and

(37:06):
that not because you know theydon't think that they can do it
or not because you know likethey think that they're dumb or
anything but maybe because youknow I think also in our culture
because we start our ownbusinesses which is great like
education sometimes it dependingcan be seen as like oh why are
you doing this you know there'sa lot of there's a lot of back
and forth conversations right sowhat if there's someone out

(37:27):
there that's like okay I want toI want to go to college but I'm
so scared and I don't know whereto start and I feel like it's
too late in my life now whatadvice do you have for them i
know you started college at likei guess at a reasonable time
that everybody kind of startsbut i feel like at this point
you've kind of you've gonethrough college and now you're
in a corporate setting which wewill get into but what advice do

(37:48):
you have for you know someonewho's kind of you know like
maybe i don't know if i shouldgo to college i should go

SPEAKER_01 (37:53):
what advice do you have for them i feel like
college is i don't know it'sit's tricky because like for
some people it's a good option iwouldn't say it's like it's for
everybody because everyone hastheir own path like i've seen
people do great things with liketechnical careers i'll say como
they manage their craft and theybecome really good like
electrical no say umelectricians or algo así and
they create a business from thatso it's like i would say it's

(38:15):
not for everybody but if you'redowning it i would say give it a
try porque como dijo mi mamátrata if it doesn't work out
dios te va a dar una señal orthe universe will give you a
sign at least try it i thinklike that's the one thing that
my mom always says like tryeverything and anything and if
it's not for you then it's okaybecause something else is gonna
come but as long as you trybecause then you'll have that

(38:36):
like what if you know what imean like oh man what if i i
would have gone like i don'tknow like two more semesters i
could have gone in that you knowwhat i mean you won't live with
regrets and i like like you saidcollege is not for everybody you
can be successful in whateveryou put your mind to it just be
the best at it and if you youcan't be the best try your best
whatever it is try your best atleast you know that you tried

(39:00):
and and i don't know you canbuild something from it like my
mom always says like you mightnot be the best at like that
college being an A, straight Astudent, because I was not a
straight A student, especiallyin college with the curves where
only like three people in ourclass could get an A, the next
four would get a B, and then therecs would get Cs.
And so it was a ranking system.
It was so hard because everyonegot A's.

(39:20):
And so I think I just tried mybest.
I didn't give up because onceyou give up, that's like the
only, that's literally the onlything that you have, like going
forward and just keeping yourmind grounded and focused,
because I think that's the onething that is going to guide
you.
Finding a mentor someone that'sabove or like that you that you

(39:40):
see and you're like oh I lovehow they manage life they manage
their their career I would loveto ask them for advice take
advice I think someone told methis once take advice from
somebody who you aspire toalways like ask the questions
like how did you get here whodid you follow like what podcast
have you followed I feel likeI'm always asking that to people

(40:00):
that I like admire and so get amentor try try anything or
anything and everything so ifyou want to try college try it
it'll always always like yeahhave that like i guess idea of
what it is you know what i meanand if it's not for you then try
i don't know maybe a tradeschool could help because i have
a lot of friends that have beenthey've done so well in life
right now and they went to tradeschool and they managed their

(40:21):
craft they opened their ownsalon and i'm like they're
thriving and they're doingamazing and yeah i would say
those two things get a mentornever give up always always ask
for a direction there's alwayssomebody willing to help if i
think it's all on you on like ifsomeone's not willing to help
then go to the next Yeah, no, I

SPEAKER_00 (41:05):
I love that.
And I love that goes into mynext question because we were
speaking, you were speaking alittle Spanglish and it kind of
goes into the corporate andacademic setting.
At what moment did you realizethat being bilingual was a
superpower for you?

SPEAKER_01 (41:20):
That's a really, really good question.
I feel like I'm able to connectat a different level to some
people on my team.
Being bilingual is, I think, asuperpower because, por ejemplo,
no sé, hay gente de mi equipoque habla español and I can
connect with them on a levelthat other co-workers can't and
it's just it's it's just therepresentation and just like
being latino you're we're allvery empathetic like we're kind

(41:43):
of like cousins from another momyou know what i mean in a way
yes i feel that with the groupyes yeah not what we've been

(42:06):
through and so I guess in a wayit has helped me shape and like
grow connections but at the sametime it's a superpower because
there's ERGs también inMicrosoft where they're focused
for Latinas and I startedgetting more involved in that
the Latino ERG it's called Somosit's for young early and career
Latinos at Microsoft and startedbecoming more involved and I
actually eventually I didn'tplan this but I eventually

(42:28):
became the lead for Somos.com soall communications I lead I
didn't plan for it it's justkind of like something that like
a direction Like it was actuallya redirection.
I applied to be a board memberfor like networking or the lead
for pillar for networking.
I didn't get that.
It was actually a denial.
Like they were like, no, like wedon't think you're ready.
You're early in career.
And I was like, oh man, I reallywanted that.

(42:50):
Like, you know what I mean?
Like that where it's like, ohman.
And then some other friend waslike, oh, this actually opened
up like comms.
Like, are you interested?
And I was like, well, I'm inmarketing and I really like
communication.
So why not try it out?
And it happened to be one of thebest blessings.
Like that denial and all of mylife I've seen those like those

(43:14):
itty bitty moments like I gotdenied a full ride scholarship
from UTEP University of Texas ElPaso and I got a and because of
that denial I was like let mejust explore other universities
and then I got a full ride forGeorgetown I was like you know
what I'm I'm actually gonnaleave yes things like that like
have you ever had that whereit's like someone like no say if

(43:35):
they I mean, yes, we're talkingabout this a little bit before I

SPEAKER_00 (43:39):
hit record.
But yeah, I had, I'm in a newindustry.
I went from the Hollywoodindustry to where I can still
use my, you know, craft andknowledge into the alcohol
industry.
And something happened.
I decided to pitch my ideas.
They got rejected.
But along the way, when I wastalking to a couple of people

(44:01):
there, I walked out and I waslike, Yeah, you're so right.
That rejection, that idea that Ijust pitched, like I rejected, I
just, I can do this on bymyself.
Like I don't need to wait forsomebody to say this.
And then I had another idea thatI also like got rejected, but
along the way it redirected meto where I feel like I need to

(44:24):
be in life because I was like,yeah, you're right.
That project that I want, I'mlike, I'm still aiming for it,
but I still need more practice.
Like i still need to tailor mycraft to do what i need and i

SPEAKER_01 (44:37):
love that and america when you feel doubt like
what do you say to yourself ialways like to ask the latinas
like what do you like if youfeel like doubt or something
like that like what do you leantowards or do you have like
anything that you dospecifically

SPEAKER_00 (44:51):
dios diosito like for reals diosito like same
thing i feel like our mothersreally i mean when you speak
about your mom it reminds meabout my mother too because my
mom a lot of the things that ilearn are from my mother even
even if we fight even if shethinks that she even if she
thinks that I we're like oh Ididn't teach her anything I'm
like no you did you taught me alot you taught me how to do hard

(45:12):
work and you taught me that youknow God you know never go
against his word he's so big andyeah I really and I've had a lot
of doubt especially this likeyear and one of the reasons that
I even started this podcast backup is again that rejection that
rejection that from the you knowalcohol industry where I was
like wait hold on you're soright I'm spending so much

(45:33):
energy When I can be spendingall this energy on myself as
well, I need to call upeverybody I can right now and
just start this, pick this up,you know?
And it's, yeah, like I think Idoubted myself a lot.
And then at the end of the day,and we're going to get into
imposter syndrome because I wasjust dealing with that.
And then I was asking for somany signs.

(45:54):
I was like, God, am I in theright place right now?
Am I like, I feel like you'resending me these things and then
I keep messing them up.
And I'm so sorry.
I'm so sorry.
And then he and then and then,you know, like, please send me a
sign that like, everything'sgonna be okay, or that I'm in
the right place.
So like, I didn't mess anythingup.
And then magically somethingdoes.
And I'm like, Whoa, that'sweird.
But you know, then at the end ofthe day, I'm like, Yeah, you're

(46:16):
so right.
I was doubting myself.
And then I will walk out andthen somebody like, like you or
the people I met last night areout there like encouraging me
like, Yeah, you're so right.
You just keep going.
Keep doing this.
Keep doing this.
And yeah, I mean, I'm the oneI'm like my biggest credit.
How do you deal with it?
imposter syndrome because i knowyou mentioned you have it how do
you deal with that

SPEAKER_01 (46:37):
okay so i had that a lot and i think reminding myself
and having three top things thati've like been through i think
the first thing is when i hadthat happen at georgetown like
no i'm here for a reasonactually a mentor told me that
like remind yourself like i'mhere for a reason i remind
myself of my accomplishments notto say like oh my god like for
example um a veces como quecuando estaba en georgetown i'd

(47:02):
be like why am i here like withall these people all of their
parents are CEOs of like therewas a CEO of a friend of mine
and like a couple of peers theyeach had their parents were like
senators and someone theirparent was the CEO of like
Bacardi I think Bacardi orsomething like that and I was
like oh my god like I'm a mixlike how why am I here and then
I chat with my mom and she'd belike Vanessa like you've been

(47:22):
through so much like I had aprofessor say like oh your
parents are professors right andI was like no like actually they
I've been through so much likeand like sometimes not knowing
where your next meal is going tocome from it really humbles you
and i'm like you know what i wasa coke scholar i was a dell

(47:44):
scholar i got a full ride for areason and i'm here for a reason
because god put me here and atthe same time i worked hard for
it and so so many blessings havecome from that but there's
always a reason why you're thereit's because you worked hard for
it and praying i think that alsohelps because you can only do so
much that do that mentally likeexercises help because whatever

(48:07):
your brain I actually read thisin my book whatever you say to
your brain is actually whatbecomes reality so if you say to
your brain like I am successfulI am an emprendedor I have a
really great podcast and it haslike I don't know 10,000 views
monthly that eventually at leastthis is what I've like I've
heard and I strongly believe itit will eventually manifest

(48:28):
itself and I feel like we canmanifest that for your podcast
too America so that from datayou have to speak it into
existence um and i feel likethat like those two things so
reminding myself like what i didwhat i've accomplished why i'm
here and like praying

SPEAKER_00 (48:43):
yeah so i know you went you went to georgetown i
was registering that earlierbecause i had questions and then
i had forgotten them but but imean i know you you you dabbled
a little bit into you know theimposter and feeling you don't
need to be there or like youdon't feel like you belong there
what made you want to apply likewhat what gave you the
confidence to just apply togeorgetown

SPEAKER_01 (49:05):
just honestly okay what fun story have you ever
seen the movie college road tripwith raymond simone yes okay

SPEAKER_00 (49:12):
you

SPEAKER_01 (49:12):
have but when i was like very

SPEAKER_00 (49:14):
little so i could not tell you the like the plot

SPEAKER_01 (49:18):
yeah yeah so i watched that that movie with
raymond simone she basicallyinterviews um to get into
georgetown and i was watching itwhen i was a i think a junior in
high school and i was like oh mygod i was going through the
application of like that phasewhere you're applying and You're
doing your, not the GRE, thecollege entrance exam.
And so I was doing thoseapplications, doing the exams.

(49:41):
And then I was like watching themovie as I was studying and
everything.
Like I was just going throughlike, you know, some paperwork.
And then I was watching themovie with my family.
And then my sister was like,wait, wouldn't it be funny if
you actually applied toGeorgetown?
And then I was like, what?
I was like, what?
No, I'm staying here in El Paso.
Like, what do you mean?
I want to stay here with myfamily.
Like, yo tengo planes dequedarme aquí con mi familia.

(50:02):
I know the area.
I grew up in El Paso.
I want to stay here.
I never want to leave.
Like I generally, America, Ididn't want to leave my, like my
house, everything.
And then I was like, thecounselor was like, oh, you
should apply to like more thanthree schools.
Like go for it.
I ended up applying to like 22colleges, which is a lot.
Pero I was like, you know what?
What do I lose?
Let me just like apply.
Y apliqué the last college Iapplied to.

(50:24):
And it was weird because theymade it a separate system.
So you can't apply in thecollege app, este portal.
You have to make it a separateapplication.
So I did it the last day.
It was due.
I was like, let me just likereally quick.
I already had my recs andeverything.
And then I forgot about itbecause I was like, I'm going to
UTEP.
Fast forward, I committed toUTEP.

(50:50):
I was like, I already got like afinancial aid.
And I was very bummed.
And then I got a letter in themail, this tiny.
Mind you, college acceptanceletters are like big.
They're like packages,¿meentiendes?
Yeah.
Well, you've seen, right?
And this was a little envelope.
And I was like, decíaGeorgetown.
Y mi mamá, es una letra deGeorgetown.
And I was like, I probablydidn't get in.
I was like, está bien, mamá.
Like, let's go eat dinner.

(51:11):
I was like, ya tengo hambre.
O sea, comer.
Y luego, luego, ya después decomer, o sea, vi la letra otra
vez y dije, ah, pues vamos aabrirla.
Probablemente decía I didn't getin, but I'm, I'm.
Yeah.
And then ahí decía, congrats.
And I was like, I was like, whatdo you mean, congrats?
I don't know if this is theright name.
Let me check the right name.
Y ahí decía Vanessa.
And I was like, what does thismean?
And then, and then my sister'slike, you got into Georgetown.

(51:33):
Y me And I said to my mom, whatis Georgetown?
And she was like, where isGeorgetown?
And I was like, I don'tunderstand.
And then she said, no, you can'tgo there.
You don't even know that they'regoing to pay you money.

(51:58):
And I said, well, it's okay.
And then, I got a letter in themail from Georgetown.
It said, full ride.
I said, you know what, mom?
I had to make a presentation andeverything explain to her why I

(52:27):
would be safe and okay and shelet me go and the rest is yeah
the rest is yeah yeah

SPEAKER_00 (52:33):
and then that kind of reminds me and I know you got
to go soon so we're almost thereuh that kind of reminded me um
so did you deal with anymicroaggressions while you were
at school and in corporateoffices because of you're a
Latina and how do you deal withthat?
I would say, you saidmicroaggressions or what was it?
Yeah, microaggressions or anykind of like where anybody else
that like, because I know withimposter syndrome, it's like you

(52:55):
feel like you don't belongthere.
But what about, did anybody elseever make you feel like, you
know, you're just Dakota, you'rejust a number.
Like that's why you are here.
I don't know if you ever dealtwith that.
And if you didn't, that's great.
Like, I love that.

SPEAKER_01 (53:08):
Georgetown, there were some students who would, I
wouldn't say protest, but atsome point I was in a classroom
and they were like saying like,oh, there are some students who
are taking up space and usingthe law to, what is it?
Affirmative action andeverything.
They're taking up space.
And it was one of the firsttimes where I was just kind of
like, I felt out of place,imposter syndrome again.

(53:29):
And yet I was like, you knowwhat?
No, we're here for a reason.
And I think I'm a strongbeliever of killing them with
kindness.
I believe leading with kindness.
I don't like to raise my voice,anything.
And I also strongly believe inkarma, but at the same time,
like everything comes back.
and so i also believe inspeaking up so i just kind of
said my opinion it was kind oflike a debate in class said my

(53:49):
opinion um and that was it likeshut it down innocently but at
the same time like i think atthe end it was like at the end
of the year that one person likecame up and said like oh like
you very well spoken i apologizeif i ever made you feel
uncomfortable but it's justlittle moments like that that
you're like you when youactually hear somebody say like

(54:09):
oh like these latinos are comingin and taking our like i've seen
like I've heard like their jobsy todo eso and it's like no like
we're actually making a reallystrong contribution to this
society and if it wasn't for uslike the U.S.
wouldn't be where it is rightnow and our culture wouldn't be
what it is with all of ourLatino contributions so I think
the fact that we're representingand we're speaking up like you
America going into like tambiéno sea support the Latino pitch

(54:33):
competition and also coming upwith the great ideas which I
can't wait to see how thispodcast comes out and when it
comes out I will support andshare pero sí I think as long as
you speak up and do it withkindness, I'm a big believer in
that.
But at the same time, always bewilling to like speak up.
I feel like that's the biggestthing.
Yeah.
Yeah.

(54:53):
And how do you take up space inplaces?
I would say I always try to, Iguess like advocate, but at the
same time, así como que si estoyen un room con otras Latinas, I,
or maybe there's, or scratchthat, if I'm in a room and
there's only one Latina, thenI'm the one person that's going
to gravitate towards thatLatina.
try to we we like growing forcesyou know what i mean like yes i

(55:19):
need to be like who's the otherpoc in this room who's like who
are he's gonna be like myadvocate so yeah through that
helping in any way that i canlike i said getting involved
with somos erg helping mycommunity um i'm always trying
to volunteer and give back andmentor um to latinos because i
was there once like i waswhenever i don't know if i see
crossing trader joes or anythinglike young families outside

(55:40):
asking for food or anything ialways stop at least i tried to
and like give if i can um goback to the store buy some
goodies because i remember beinga kid and going into churches
and asking for donations with mymom and it was it was very i
guess at the time i didn'trealize what that was um but
then growing up i'm like wowlike we actually had to do that

(56:00):
to survive

SPEAKER_02 (56:01):
yeah

SPEAKER_01 (56:01):
like going to stay at like hotels because our
apartment lease i don't know sojust like reminding myself like
where i come from doesn't defineyou but it definitely motivates
you and you should do the sameand try to help others that were
once in your position

SPEAKER_00 (56:18):
yeah and what made you want to start latinas and
lattes and what have you kind ofgotten out of it and why why the
whatsapp channel

SPEAKER_01 (56:24):
yeah so latinas and lattes when i first arrived to
seattle i generally felt verylike isolated like very lonely i
didn't know any friends fromcollege over here and i was like
how do i how do i make friendslike it's hard once you graduate
college and so i actually metone latina from google and her
name is ale she helped me buildLatinas en Lattes.
I asked her, I was like, youknow, what if we just like go to

(56:46):
a cafecito and like scope out tosee if there's Latinas in like a
Latino area?
We didn't invite any Latinas ona Saturday, Sunday.
And so we were like, what if wepost a video on TikTok?
And we were like, all Latinasshow up at this point.
And we had a couple of Latinasshow up.
And so we started chatting and Iwas like, what if we create like
a Instagram page all for Latinasto really motivate each other,
create community for ambitiousLatinas to grow, connect and

(57:08):
support one another.
And Latinas en Lattes was born.
And we decided to to keep aWhatsApp or create a WhatsApp to
create connection, create agroup chat.
Amen.
Yes.
And so now we do like a lot ofpop-up workshops for Latinas,
especially if they're low incomeor just Latinas in general who
want to learn more about how tolevel up career, mental health,

(57:31):
wellness, financial.
And yeah, that is Latinas andLatinas.
What are some things you gainedout of Latinas and Latinas?
I feel like a community offriends, amigas.
I have met so many strong,amazing people latina women moms
like you name it likeentrepreneurs and it motivates
me to see how hustle culturelike you america like i met you

(57:51):
and like you're just verymotivated from the start when i
first met you i'm like oh my godshe is like on the wall she
knows what she wants and it justmotivates you like surround
yourself around people that wantto grow and that will help you
grow and i feel like i was ableto gain like a lot of very close
friends and latina amigasthrough latinas and lattes yeah
i feel like it's the start ofsomething great i hope it

(58:13):
flourishes into something likemaybe growing in other areas
like maybe oregon who knows i'mstill starting out but um yeah
it's just it's great to see howmuch of an impact it's made in
like less than four months i

SPEAKER_00 (58:24):
mean yeah i mean it's been a i've seen it grow i
feel like i joined when it firststarted there was a little bit
of groups and now i'm seeing somany people join and it's
amazing you never know we we canhave a reality tv show in the
future just like the real moremen's of house wax just kidding
There you go.
There you go.

(58:45):
I'm pushing that one Hollywood.
Okay.
Where, where do you, so I guess,yeah, where do you, you said you
see it in other States.
Do you see other goals for it?
And within the next five yearsor where do you, what are your
long-term goals?

SPEAKER_01 (58:57):
I think I would love to see if we can get some
sponsorship because we are anonprofit and we don't have
funding.
So hopefully applying to forsome funding, I don't know how
to start with that process.
So I think that's like thebiggest thing, getting funding
for the nonprofit.
Cause it right now isself-funded.
Like I was putting in, likemoney from like what i earn from
my salary and it's it's it's abig toll sometimes and so maybe

(59:18):
getting some sponsorship but atthe same time like creating more
events for latinas like morewell-being like financial uh
workshops we're hosting onetoday actually for real estate
so i'm like if you're interestedor if you don't have any planty
at 6 30 we're hosting a realestate workshop yeah just seeing
where it goes from there i don'tthink i have like a five-year
protection or anything but idon't know i just go with the

(59:39):
flow and like what feels rightand um and yeah that's our plan
right now hopefully to get morefunding and seeing where it goes
from there

SPEAKER_00 (59:46):
yeah i love that no and then i know um you're busy
she's a busy lady you guys umbut i yesterday you i mean every
time i see you and i've seen youjust a couple of times but when
i did meet you i was like yesshe bien aplicada just very like
what you walk around withconfidence but i also understand
like being latina especially inthe u.s it we it takes a lot for

(01:00:09):
us to build that confidence sowe what's something that you
wish you could tell yourself,your younger self, when you were
just starting out and what otherkind of words of encouragement
do you have for other Latinaswho, I mean, we all have
confidence, but you know, whomaybe are stuck right now and
just feel also, we just needthat little extra push

SPEAKER_01 (01:00:26):
right now.
I don't share this a lot with alot of people, but I was like
bullied when I was in elementaryschool a lot.
And I was very girly.
So like, girly girl to the corelike always wearing and it kind
of did shut me down a lot like ibecame very quiet when i was in

(01:00:48):
school because i also wasbullied because i would speak
spanish a lot sometimes in someof my classes where it was
required to speak english and soi think if i could go back and
tell a younger self i would saylike size skate you are not too
much you go and put those pinkshoes on regardless if somebody
calls you out you do you becauseyou're doing well and you know
how to rock it and just stick towhat you think you you like you

(01:01:11):
know what you are you know whatyou want to be keep going and
don't let anybody tell you thatyou are too much and just be you
I feel like that I wish somebodywould have like told me to just
like don't put your pink shoesaway and I feel like that I hope
somebody gets I don't knowsomething from that

SPEAKER_00 (01:01:32):
and then anything else you'd like to say or is
there any way that you feel likecompanies or schools can help
Latina so we can be in moreleadership roles or or anything

SPEAKER_01 (01:01:42):
i think like honestly just like if you're
watching this and you're asupporter of some some sort
investor or anything like investin non-profits in our community
in seattle like i don't knowlike america's podcast like
invest if you can in sharing ourcontent because it really helps
us in the long term grow andyeah thank you thank you for
having me of

SPEAKER_00 (01:02:03):
course thank you so much i appreciate your time okay
um and i will see you soon andi'll see you at another event
okay bye america bye have a goodone bye