Helping others heal is a priority for me, it has become my life goal to pursue a career in mental health as I am finished my bachelors in psychology and going through my masters program I have learned that it has helped me heal so many aspects of my emotional and mental health. It is intriguing to see how certain theories and assessments bring out different traumas hidden and unhidden. As I continue advancing though my courses my empathy for others has grown, it is crucial to help understand how everyone communicates and understand what they receive from others. One of my goals is to my own private practice and my client population will consist of children, teens, and adults who struggle with their mental health. I want focus on my specialization in crisis and trauma, as well as mentoring young women with disabilities in search of career development. Diversity is an essential aspect in the counseling journey i am a first generation Mexican American woman to obtain my bachelor’s degree and with GOD’S help my masters degree. I was raised a Catholic Christian and my faith and spirituality have challenged me push through the noise of life and cultural barriers. My hope with my cultural background is to help young women achieve educational excellence and find the right career opportunities. Through mentorship I hope to foster many strategies and initiatives to improve young women with disabilities an opportunity to find their purpose. When working with families and children with a similar cultural background will help give me insight to their struggles as a family and how they view therapy. Overall my continuation of professional development through training in gaining multicultural competence is essential in my journey! I want to be able to help build opportunities for others with a different cultural background as me. One of the things that helped build my aspirations are my parents as mentioned that working through the courses it has opened my eyes to unhidden traumas in my life as child. It has always interested me why I can remember many memories from childhood, and learning through the theories and lessons some of trauma came from my parents decisions when raising me. My father was a Mexican macho man who believe therapy meant you were crazy. He treated all of us with harsh words, un encouraging at all times, he feared many things, caused anxiety and rifts between my siblings and I. My mother was tough and strict and I could never understand our relationship I felt as if she disliked me. Now at 30 years old I understand the pressure my father put her through and how the marriage was not strong due to external and internal stress, pressures, lack of communication and respect. I have always felt that I needed to heal myself and help other as well because it has been such a liberating experience and I have wonderful relationship with mother and siblings, unfortunately my father passed away in 2023, it was tough but I was able to reconcile with him. I hope to be a beacon of light for others, and my relationship with GOD has shown me I can strive and move forward through any challenge. His love surpasses all understanding and struggles. It will be my honor to serve others as Jesus did.

I am a First generation Mexican American looking to make a difference and social change when it comes to the Latin community receiving mental health services. Throughout my counseling journey it has been eye opening and truly healing listening to all the internal and external factors that contribute to many things as part of the Latin community. As a graduate student I have known how important cultural competence is to gain and train, in the Latin community it is important to bring awareness and knowledge to how they can gain resources useful to help them. I believe that as a part of the Latin community there are many things that we need to heal from as our parents may have not know how to provide us with an empathetic way of raising us. For me my familial background has shaped my identity as a thirty year old, I take positive and negative factors into account. From my parents our familial relation was dysfunctional at times and there minimal times where we could along. I got see my parents relationship between each other never was the most loving or respectful. As a graduate student I keep learning how to cope with certain trauma and how to continue to deal with it. I would like to also become a mentor or role model for younger women who are pursuing a higher education, I never had anyone guide me to where I am now and through receiving my MS in clinical mental health counseling I have want to provide empowerment and guidance to younger women in the Latin community. There are many factors in our Latin community that believe that therapy is for “crazy people” and in the macho men culture it is not a thing that it is seen as needed. As a counselor I believe in the importance of providing the correct information and build a community in which it is seen a positive factor into healing. I always like to remember my Mexican roots as they have given me the skills of empathy, hard work, respect, resilience and commitment, my American roots are built on dreams and opportunities!