Tell us a little bit about yourself, your name, pronouns, where you are from, where you grew up, where do you currently work?
I am Carolina Medina; I grew up in Estado de Mexico which is the suburbs part of Mexico City. I lived in Estado de Mexico for 15 years before moving to Fredericksburg, Virginia. My mom, brother and I settled in Fredericksburg because my dad had been working there for quite some years. After living in Fredericksburg for many years I decided to move to Charlottesville because there were more employment opportunities. Currently, I work as the Operations Coordinator for the non-profit organization Community Investment Collaborative (CIC), where we empower small businesses for big change.
1. What was your life like growing up in Mexico City, Mexico?
Growing up in Mexico was one of the best things that has happened to me. I absolutely love my childhood memories. They are all amazing! My childhood is one of those moments that if I could travel back in time, I’d definitely choose to experience again those moments growing up in Mexico because they were full of adventurous and creative moments along my five cousins who were of similar age. Our child games were creative, unique, innocent and lots of fun!
2. What brought you to Charlottesville? Or what was your journey to Charlottesville like?
After I graduate from University of Lynchburg I moved back to Fredericksburg to live with my parents but it was difficult to find employment in that area. Then through a friend I found a position as an insurance representative here in Charlottesville and that was the main reason why I moved to the area. I worked in this position for about four months and then I moved to the non-profit sector with CIC where I have been working for 2 years. Charlottesville is a small town with lots of things to do and it has such a wonderful community that makes it very appealing for young people like myself to make it our home.
3. What sparked your inspiration or motivation in pursuing your current career? Has it always been the same goal? If not, what was the journey like?
Once, I heard that we are here to serve others, we all do, in one way or another. I never thought my career would be in the nonprofit area but it is definitely a great fit! I truly enjoy serving the entrepreneur community of Charlottesville and I hope to be able to help more my Latino community.
2. How would you currently define yourself and the role you play within our community?
This is a difficult question to answer, it is difficult to define one’s self because we are all in constant change and trying to be a better version of ourselves, but I can say that I am a young professional who is trying to make a little bit easier the path of those who I serve, this through support, friendship, compassion and a lot of perseverance.
3. What are some challenges you faced working here in Charlottesville? How were you able to overcome it?
One of the challenges I currently face working here in Charlottesville is that I am not very well connected with my own Latino community. I want to have the chance to better serve and integrate myself with my people. I have also had challenges connecting with Latino professionals with whom I can partner and together strengthen the opportunities we can give to our Latino families.
4. What are some life lessons you want to share with our community?
This is another difficult question since I am really terrible at answering this type of questions but one thing I can say I do and would like for others to also is it: keep pushing, perseverance and hard work are key to achieving what you want and take you where you want to be.
Elizabeth Valtierra