Her Story
About Celia
Celia Lara is a business and operations professional specializing in education services. She has served for one year in food service administration at Vertex Education, where she supports compliance, funding, and operations for legacy traditional schools. Previously, she worked in community relations, enrollment, and marketing at the same organization. Her career spans more than 20 years in customer service and management, beginning with 11 years as a store manager at New York and Company, where she developed teams and delivered customer service. She then spent five years in early childhood education, balancing family needs while running a daycare operation through the COVID period. Lara holds a BBA in Business Administration from the University of Arizona in Tucson. She is bilingual in Spanish and English and draws on personal values of humility, gratitude, and work-life balance in her professional approach.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Celia
01What do you attribute your success to?
Love for my family, passion for always wanting more, but also being content and grateful for what I have, and humility. I learned from my mother to be humble and acknowledge people no matter their role, whether CEO or cleaning bathrooms. Always be humble and hungry, passionate, and grateful for everything, looking back at accomplishments no matter how small.
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
The personal touch and being respectful of every person you come in contact with goes a long way. You never know what you can learn from everybody no matter what role they're in. The sky is the limit. Everybody is just people, whether CEO or powerful. Never be afraid, never feel like you don't belong. You have something to contribute. Whatever you want, you can accomplish it. Just go for it. Don't hold back, don't be afraid.
03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
Don't give up. If you think that what you're doing doesn't matter, it does. Everything that you are doing matters, and sometimes you don't see the big picture. But everything that you are doing right now is building a path for you. Everything that you're doing right now is teaching you and preparing you for something bigger and greater. Never be afraid to reach out and step out of where you're at, and talk to people about what could be. Be grateful for what you have as it's a learning experience, but knowing that if you want it, there's always something bigger and better available.
04What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
The biggest challenge is the frustration from educators, the heavy workload, and lack of support as a nation or world for teachers who often work multiple jobs. It's difficult to support education and the upcoming generation. The biggest opportunity is continuing to provide resources and support with a human touch, going out of your way to call, set up meetings, or visit in person rather than just sending emails or manuals.
05What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
Work and career are important as they pay bills and support families, but work-life balance is key. Knowing that what I do matters and makes an impact but if I have to step away nobody's going to die, so I can be there for my family supporting their sports or if someone is sick. My employer respects that and provides support for work-life balance and being present for family.
Join Influential Women and start making an impact. Register now.