Aleeya Celeste Garcia

I would say my family. I wouldn't be anything without the support from them. There was even, especially after the stroke, that I was really struggling - I was 23, and I didn't know a lot about the world and a lot about life. I remember calling my credit card companies from the hospital asking them to pause my payments because I just had a stroke. Mind you, I couldn't speak because my stroke had hit my Broca's and Wernicke's area, so I had to ask my twin to call for me. And they told me they don't do that, that I'd just have to figure it out. In that moment, if I did not have my family, I couldn't imagine the extra additional stress of figuring out things financially. My family has been there for me through everything, and without their support, I wouldn't be where I am today.

This might sound a little provocative, but one thing I kept telling myself after the stroke - and your neurologist does tell you that you have a higher chance of going into depression because you have to rely on so many people around you and it makes you feel less than a human - was that shit don't move unless you do. I would have to tell myself, okay, nothing's gonna move unless I move. Things can move around me, but it's like I'm an atom orbiting the universe, and unless I move forward, I'm just gonna stay stagnant. That mindset kept me going and pushed me to take action even when everything felt impossible.

I would tell them that even if it feels like what you're doing means nothing, as long as you're working towards something, it's a snowball effect. It's baby steps, baby steps, and it's gonna show up on your lap, on your front door, and it's gonna blow you away. You have to keep pushing forward even when it doesn't feel like you're making progress, because those small steps add up to something amazing. Just keep moving forward and trust the process.

The biggest challenge for me was having a Bachelor's in neuroscience and then that post-grad in AI and ML, and not being recognized or seen as a software developer. Companies were like, oh, you know, you spent the last 4 years focusing on neuroscience, how do you know how to code? The biggest challenge was having to prove to companies that I am just as smart as any other STEM graduate, that I know what I'm doing. With any company, it's a learned material of what they want you to do. I remember interviewing with so many companies, and I would get through the first round, the second round, and then get the email that they chose another candidate. One company told me they ended up choosing someone that was laid off and had experience. So the biggest challenge is this funnel of the job market, where these experienced workers are getting laid off, and then entry-level graduates are wanting the experience, and there's none. It was a frustrating battle trying to convince some company out there that I'm worth the risk.

I would say my mom drives me both professionally and personally. I was raised by a single mother, and she sacrificed so much. She really enforced education - she instilled it into me, my sister, and my older brother that education is the way out of anything, and it's the way out of getting your mind clear. When you get in your head and you feel like it's so busy, just focusing on one thing makes it feel less busy. Anything that I do is to prove to her that how she raised me and how she sacrificed so much, it was worth it. She taught me the value of perseverance, education, and never giving up, and those values guide everything I do in my work and personal life.