Iris Ramos Jones

My daughter, for sure. She has no idea, or at least I think that she doesn't know what her mom went through, because I have tried to protect her from negativity. When you are in the immigrant space, everybody is very proud of where they come from, and they tend to talk about that very first person that came here and opened the doors for them, who crafted the path for them. Well, I am that person in my daughter's life, in my family's life, so it is amazing, but at the same time, it's a lot of responsibility. I want her to understand in the future that if Mammy could, with all the odds against her, without being able to speak the language, without knowing anybody, without at some point of my life here not having the income even to go by - I never went and asked for any assistance from the government or any help, first because I didn't know where to go, but also because I understand, and I did work hard, and that was what I wanted her to know. She is definitely my biggest motivation. I wanted to be, at some point in her life, to look back and say, okay, if Mommy could, I can do it. Like, that she can do anything. There's no excuse for her to accomplish everything that she wants in life. So I work hard for giving her a great education, but also to set an example for her, hopefully, so when she can talk in the future about who came here first in her family and who paved the way for her, that's gonna be mommy.

One that I keep hearing is to be myself without negotiating my values. I think that that's very powerful. My husband always tells me, you know, just be you. You have gotten to this point by being yourself, do not change it. That advice has been so important because I have found my voice within cabinet by being myself. I am probably the one that is always wearing colors in the meetings when they are all so serious and wearing black, and there I am in an orange dress. But that's who I am, and I always make them laugh, and I always have something that's not that serious, but at the same time, it's very cool. They know me. So being yourself and not negotiating your values is the most powerful advice I've received.

First, to do not negotiate your values, especially in this industry. Be yourself. Your voice is important. Different voices, different perspectives, and therefore different realities and experiences are very important, and you never know where your experiences can take you or how much you can help others based on your experiences. Have faith. I am a very faithful person, and I would not be here if it wasn't because of the mercy of Heavenly Father. So have that faith and just take a leap of faith. I never thought I was gonna be in this position, but I was like, okay, why not, right? Let's see what happens. Don't be afraid of taking those leaps of faith, and don't be afraid of jumping into new opportunities, but always be yourself and do not negotiate your values. Be grateful and show gratitude. Every boss I have had here in this country, I'm very grateful for them. They all taught me something, and I remain friends with them, and they also say they are proud of me, and I am grateful for them. I'm also thankful to my immigrant mentality, because I already left everything, I already started from zero in a different country, so it's not that difficult for me to jump into new challenges or opportunities.

The biggest challenge, unfortunately, in my field right now is just the word immigrant. It's being used as a four-letter word, and it's awful. But it goes to both sides, you know? One that views us in a negative way, and the other ones that think we're all poor immigrants. No, I'm not a victim of anybody. I don't want to be seen as, oh, poor Iris, because that would mean that all my sacrifices and how hard I work is just because I'm an immigrant. I never actually before talked about me being an immigrant in any conversation. People knew, you can tell by my broken English and the way that I look, but that's it. At the same time, the opportunity is to be able to give this world a different perspective, and starting from me being the example of it. My experiences helped me big time to connect with the community, because I can tell them, hey, I get it, I went through it, and also, this is how you can do it. So it has helped me big time, and that's where the opportunity is. The opportunity is also to be able to talk about that experience and give my perspective when we are at a cabinet meeting, and being able to be that voice for a lot of people like me in such an important role at that table. I think that is where the opportunity comes from that challenge as well. And I'm fearless, so like, literally fearless. I understand that I am not here to make friends, and I'm also not here to please people. I'm here to do what this administration wants and to give that different perspective about the immigrants. I believe in our potential and all the great skills that we bring with us and that capacity of not only having a job, but thriving in everything that we do, and at the end of the day, pursuing the American dream.