Raised in a traditional family, I was “taught” how to act properly, be quiet & keep opinions to myself, to not think or stand up for myself, to not run or sweat, that was not for girls. When I started to date, I was encouraged to not go to school because it was not worth the time and if I wanted to get married, a not so smart wife was preferred.
My mother who was raised no different than me was the support for my father’s business. I did catch a glimpse of her taking initiative when she would bring new ideas and opportunities to the family small grocery store to increase sales and expand the business. I grew up thinking it was not possible to succeed with my own capabilities and skills. Everything changed when I realized I had no role models growing up. I saw that successful women gave credit to other factors instead of themselves. I had the pleasure and honor to share my story when it was featured at Facebook for Developers and F8 2020, as a young mother with no college degree that taught herself how to code, and founded MentallyVR. a Mental Health Virtual Reality platform for anonymous psychotherapy and meditation sessions.
As the Lead for the Facebook Developer Circles: Toronto chapter, I started the Women in Technology initiative in the North America Region. We run workshops and speaker events every month where we bring women to take part by giving talks or teaching a class. As a result of this, there has been an increase of more than 100% of women’s attendance and participation. As a board member for the Canadian National non-profit organization, The Canadian Hispanic Congress, we are creating programs to support Hispanic-Latinas entrepreneurs.
My passion to empower women pushed me to bring together different organizations that support and celebrate women for International Women’s Day where we shone the light upon successful women on a Women In Tech panel. I experienced first-hand how this positively affected everyone that attended and participated. Motivated by this, my next project is a podcast focused on bringing brilliant introverts to the spotlight, where women proudly share their stories, successes, achievements, and their obstacles. My hope is to bring these stories to the next young woman that, like me, was told to adhere to societal norms. I want to break the cycle, to motivate, and inspire her, and bring a new bright future generation of fierce, confident, and empowered women.
Here is a quote of a woman I look up to – “There is no limit to what we, as women, can accomplish.” – Michelle Obama
Cheers to a world of more confident, empowered women chasing their dreams and purpose in life.
Canada 