The Power of Showing Up Whole: A First-Gen Latina's Guide to Leading Without Shrinking
Embracing Your Whole Self as Your Greatest Professional Asset
I grew up believing I had to choose: the academic or the dancer, the professional or the mother, the Puerto Rican or the American. For years, I compartmentalized myself to fit into spaces that weren’t built for women like me—first-generation, bilingual, taking care of my dad while he was terminally ill, pursuing a doctorate, teaching military veterans transitioning to college, and choreographing Zumba routines.
But here’s what I’ve learned: your wholeness is your superpower.
The Myth of the “Perfect” Professional
Early in my career, I thought influence meant sounding like everyone else in the room. I muted my accent in meetings. I left my salsa playlist off the conference playlist. I treated my lived experience—growing up between New York and Puerto Rico, navigating letting go of my son as he enlisted in the military, balancing family life, supporting bereaved children—as separate from my “real” work in higher education.
Then I wrote a book on critical thinking for Hispanic female STEM students and realized: the very perspectives I was minimizing were the ones my students needed most.
When you show up whole, with your unique accent, story, and culture, you give other women permission to do the same.
Three Practices for Leading Without Shrinking
1. Name Your Edge
The spaces between identities feel uncomfortable because they’re unfamiliar. Instead of hiding there, claim them. I now introduce myself as “a first-gen Latina who works at a university empowering others by day and writes children’s books at night”—and that tension is where my best ideas live.
2. Build Tables, Don’t Just Join Them
Influence isn’t about squeezing into existing rooms. It’s about creating new ones. Whether it’s hosting a podcast for first-gen students (First Gen Lounge) or volunteering with Blue Star Families, I’ve learned that the most impactful work happens when you design the space yourself.
3. Let Movement Be Your Medicine
Leadership is exhausting. My Zumba classes aren’t just a side hustle—they’re my reset button. When words fail, rhythm restores. Find your non-negotiable practice that returns you to yourself.
The Invitation
To every woman reading this who’s been told she’s “too much” or “not enough”: you don’t need to shrink to be influential. You need to expand.
Your story—the one about where you’re from, what you’ve survived, and how you’ve thrived—is not a distraction from your expertise. It is your expertise.
So show up. Speak up. Dance through the doubt. The world doesn’t need another version of someone else. It needs you, whole and unapologetic.
