Please give a brief background on yourself and your career.
I was born in Houston, TX to immigrant parents from Mexico and Peru. My mother fought for me to attend the top schools across town. If it hadn’t been for my amazing teachers, I would have never gone to Wellesley or received my Master’s degree from the University of Texas at Austin by the time I was 23. My education privilege opened up amazing opportunities like studying abroad in Brazil and Italy, and working in D.C.
At UT Austin I studied social and economic policy, but focused on increasing educational attainment rates for low income communities of color. I joined Teach for America in 2012 and taught ninth grade English in a high-poverty community in Miami, Florida. It was an amazing experience that challenged me and pushed me to truly understand the systemic barriers that low-income children face in their pursuit for college. Within systems that work against students, teachers and leaders become incredibly critical to their success.
I recently moved back to Texas and committed myself to working within the human capital space in education, searching for truly transformative teachers and leaders for our kids. I work as a Talent Partner for IDEA Public Schools, a major charter school network that has sent 100% of its students to college for the past 8 years. My work revolves around coaching principals through the hiring process and recruiting top talent to our teacher and administrator positions. I also partner up with several campuses to improve organizational health and teacher retention. I love what I do!
How has your career changed since you originally envisioned it at Wellesley? What other careers did you consider as a student?
It actually took until the end of my sophomore fall semester to declare my major in Political Science. I had planned to major in Architecture my first year and took several studio art, art history, and math courses to fulfill those requirements. The summer after my first year at Wellesley I participated in a summer architecture program called “Career Discovery” at Harvard Graduate School of Design. While I really enjoyed that experience, I quickly realized that I didn’t have the level of passion that a career in architecture would require (given that it is a very long and strenuous career). One project I was given that summer was to build a school. I realized that I didn’t really care about the physical building as much as I did about the people who would be inside the building. I majored in Political Science on a whim–I knew that I liked the department and wanted to learn more about how public policies shaped our society.
How has Wellesley contributed to your career?
In high school I was the student who kept quiet and didn’t raise my hand when I had a question out of shame and fear. Wellesley changed that; it made me fearless and always willing to raise my hand, speak up, and go against the grain. I truly believe Wellesley’s culture of high expectations pushed me to become resilient when things have gotten tough in my career. Wellesley made me into a problem solver and critical thinker, and ultimately, a leader. My involvement with Mezcla and Society Zeta Alpha during my time at Wellesley helped me build key leadership and relationship-building skills that have only strengthened my roles as policy analyst, classroom teacher and talent strategist.
What is a typical work day or work week like for you?
There is absolutely no typical day or work week for me and I love that! For example, today I hosted a teacher recruitment banquet for over 45 participants. Most weeks involve phone screening teacher candidates, observing and evaluating sample teach lessons for final interviews, coaching my principals on difficult conversations with current teachers, collaborating with school leaders as far as talent placement and strategy, and organizing recruitment efforts. I move around a lot throughout the day, and since I also support schools in San Antonio, I am often on the road.
What piece of advice would you offer students looking to get into your area of interest and expertise?
Within public service I am a big believer of “doing your time” and working your way up. Start at the grassroots level–whether that is working as a community canvasser, organizer, teacher, tutor, or Peace Corps/Americorps member. There will always be time in the future to take the high-level position. Those positions are often disconnected from the community you are looking to serve. Grassroots experience is such a critical perspective to have in order to be successful in a higher-level role within public service.
What do you wish you had known as a student?
I wish I had advocated for myself more in class. When I got that first failing grade on a test my first year, I just shoved the test away in my backpack and felt inadequate. I decided economics was probably just not my thing. It took some time for me to realize that I could do well at Wellesley, as long as I advocated myself and sought out those resources. I wish I had gone straight to my professor’s office hours that day and asked him for help. That way I wouldn’t have waited 2 more years to take another Econ class. The second time around I had an amazing experience because I was able to truly hold myself and my professors accountable for my learning.
If you could come back and take one class at Wellesley what would it be?
I would have taken a religion class! Always wanted to, and wasn’t able to fit it in my schedule.