Ana Clara Aguiar Mendes

I think perseverance. I'm an immigrant, I came over to the U.S. when I was young, and that made me have to grow up really fast, and learn the language, learn the culture, and learn everything, so I kept going, and that's what got me here. So just never giving up on what you need, but not in a corny sense, in a sense that you need to be put aside for the moment, but still revisit those if that's something that you actually want to achieve.

I think just trying to do what you love, while also considering your needs. Sometimes people say just do what you love, but then the industry doesn't pay. So trying to find a balance between being able to care for yourself and your family, but also do something that you really enjoy, and that you can be impactful in. Not only be happy, or not only be rich, but find a place in the middle that you're taken care of, and also you're able to care for people. Because when you're not taken care of, it's really hard to care for others.

I would say find what you like to do, and try to focus on that from the beginning. Sometimes it's hard because you don't know, but as soon as you're able to kind of find the area that you're happiest in and that you feel that your skills align most with, just focus on that and try to get there. Because psychology and case management and dealing with people with disabilities is a really broad field. So from the beginning, if you don't really know what you want, it might make it harder on you to get where you want to go in the future. So whenever you know where your skills align and where your heart is, just try to focus on that and specialize on that, not only in the sense of getting certifications, degrees, or anything, but also your knowledge.

I think the biggest challenge is dealing with state requirements and things like that, because as much as we want to give people the most help as possible, that's not usually the case. So having to have hard conversations and let them know that we're here on your side, we're trying to help you, but the state does not let us do more than we're already doing. One of the biggest opportunities I would say is being around people and building community. This field has a lot of people that are open to that, to share their knowledge and guide you through whatever questions you might have.

I think respect, truthfulness, being able to communicate straight what you need. It's hard to figure out what you need if you are not straight with me, so I think that something that I really appreciate. So respect, truthfulness, and communication.