The Latinx Education Coach LLC was a dream that I decided to realize in 2021. Here’s a recap of how it happened.
I earned my doctoral degree in 2019, and soon after, I was being asked by others when I would go into administration. I never gave anyone a definitive answer. I just said that I am open to opportunities. Pre-doctoral degree, my life was planned out. I knew that I needed to do well in high school to go into a 4-year college. I learned in college that I needed to do well to get into a graduate program. So after 17 years of schooling, I promised myself that I would remain open to possibilities after my doctorate.
However, who knew that a pandemic was coming? It VIRTUALLY changed my life. <– Pun intended.
A year into the pandemic, I became pregnant. My family was EXCITED! My husband and I had been married 10 years, and we had no children because we wanted to be finished with school and financially stable before growing our family. And this was finally it! Jorge, my husband, and I decided that COVID couldn’t hold us back another year.
Then, I caught COVID, and it rampaged my family. I stood away from my grandparents to keep them safe. Despite our best efforts, they ended up catching COVID elsewhere anyway.
My grandfather passed away on January 18th, 2021. I was six months pregnant, teaching 3 different subjects virtually, was in charge of handling all of my grandfather’s estate, and decided to open a business. That makes sense, right?
It made complete sense. My grandfather loved working. He had been in the concrete industry since he was 16 and was a master in his trade. He was the superintendent of a concrete company and made the company he worked for successful. He also served as a teacher to many apprentices, including my father. I always knew that my grandfather knew so much that he could have opened his own business.
During this whirlwind of loss, I couldn’t believe that I had the best thing that ever happened to me (my daughter) and my worst nightmare (losing my grandparents) taking place at once. As I thought about all the labor and energy that my grandfather put into his craft, a seed was planted in my heart- entrepreneurship. Why not take the risk and see what running my own company would be like? Why not build something that can grow, impact my community positively, and show my daughter that you can turn dreams into reality?
Well, I did it – with the love and support of my husband, Jorge. Others may have thought I was nuts, but he knew that I could do it even with everything on my plate. I also think he intuitively knew that opening this business held deep meaning.
Our mission is simple: remove barriers from people who want to advance in school and career. People have resonated with our mission, and they keep coming back for support, affirming that we are needed and need to continue this work.
I have worked with 200+ people in over 10 states in just one year! Additionally, I have supported 70 editing and coaching clients. Moreover, I have edited 14 resumes, 5 cover letters, 10 dissertations, 4 personal statements, and more! Jorge helped me facilitate bilingual workshops too. We also planned and led an in-person retreat, a virtual retreat, and co-led a 3-day virtual conference.
Today is the 1-year anniversary of my grandfather’s passing. I cannot think of a better way to commemorate him than by building on the legacy he left behind. The concrete in our logo is dedicated to my grandfather and father, who work/ed in concrete and labor/ed tremendously hard to provide me the opportunity to get an education.
