Estephanie Vallejo

I attribute my success to my family. Because without them, I would not be here. From a very young age, I understood what hard work was and all the sacrifices being made to give me the opportunities I have. My background in being Mexican taught me about hard work and sacrifice early on. I always worked with my aunt and my family, and I knew I wouldn't have time for extracurriculars to put in for colleges, but I made sure I was a straight-A student with a good GPA. That was my strategy. Throughout my journey at the University of Texas at Arlington, even when I was on academic probation for 3 semesters and had to drop one class and retake two, my family kept me going. Here I am, finally graduating, and I know and recognize that all of that would not have been possible without God and my family. All these sacrifices that were made for me, remembering where I came from, that's what drives me.

The best career advice I've ever received is to follow your heart, follow your gut, follow your instincts. My uncle, who passed away a while ago, would always tell me that the decisions he would make in receiving new clients or proposals, he would always, always, always follow his gut. He said that if your gut said to do it, then you go for it. Because life is honestly very, very short, and regardless if you fail or don't, at least you try. At the end of the day, that's what it's all about. It's about trying, it's about wanting to do better. As long as you're trying, you're doing it. That's what he told me. It's okay if you fail, I mean, at least you tried. How would you learn without trial and error?

I would tell them to take all of their math classes at community college and not at university, because it's very difficult! But seriously, I would tell them that I understand it's very hard, and you can sometimes feel lost, or feel that maybe you're just not enough, not intelligent enough to get into this field, or maybe you're just over your head. For me, I would tell them to have God in their heart, or if they have different religious beliefs, find a motivator. For me, it was very important to have my family alongside me in my journey. You can't worry about everything because it will just consume you. Everyone always asks me how I'm so calm when telling them about difficult situations, and I say because I just give it out to God. There's no point in worrying, and even if it fails, truly, it's failing for a purpose. I'm not supposed to be doing this specific thing, but I am going to become someone, I am going to become successful. It'll just maybe be in a different form, different way. Make sure you have a good support system, people by your side that are cheering you on and are just going to be positive energy for you. That's going to help you so much.

I think the biggest challenge right now is the employment situation. I'm seeing much of my peers graduate, and they've been graduated for almost half a year now, and they still have not been able to receive employment. So the challenge would be making connections or having a job lined up after finishing studies. That is very, very difficult. The market is oversaturated with a lot of people using AI and not really getting the skills. But I think in our favor, who better to know what is going to be the most eye-catching than us humans? AI really can't mimic the creativity that one holds. I'm very much a firm believer that AI would be more of a tool for marketing, rather than just replacing marketing. As long as we're able to fix the environmental concerns, I think it can be helpful rather than harmful.

I think being honest with oneself is most important. As much as you want to be successful, as much as you want to achieve something, it's better to do it in an honest way. You're not going to achieve anything with lying to other people, or lying to yourself. So just always being honest, being genuine, and being humble. Remembering where you came from and all the sacrifices that were made for you. Those are the values that guide me in everything I do.