Katia Garduno

I attribute my success to always thinking about striving for something better and trying to be better emotionally, professionally, mentally, and physically. That's what keeps me going, to just be better with myself and with the people around me. I think that's the point in life, you know? I didn't come here to be by yourself, so it's just trying to be with other people and help others, if it's in your power, or at least just being a support for somebody. Just keep moving forward and striving to be better.

The best career advice I've received is to do what makes you happy, what challenges you, and what can make you grow as a person and as a professional. I think that's important. My dad and other people throughout my life have told me, you know, don't get stuck, and just continue moving forward, whatever you do. Continue growing. It's like nature, everything keeps growing.

No matter how many times you fall, you can always get back up. Usually, or in my case, you come out of whichever fall stronger, because then you learn from that situation, and then you figure out ways to overcome that and to keep moving forward. So, no matter how many times you doubt yourself, or how many times you fall, if you keep getting back up, you'll be fine, and you'll be stronger each time.

I was doubtful at the beginning to be in the court system. There was a lot of legal language and words and things that I didn't understand, because first of all, English is not my first language, and second of all, the legal language sometimes is very difficult to understand. That kind of scared me a little bit at the beginning when I got the government job. Now I'm pretty comfortable with it, and I'm very proud that I stuck to it, that my fear didn't let me quit or detour from a government job that, for me, is the greatest thing or greatest achievement. Even though I was doubtful, I was like, no, I'm gonna do this, and I'm gonna learn. The first thing I did before my first day, I bought a legal dictionary.

The values most important to me are honesty, accountability, being a team player, and helping other people, either at work or in my personal life. Being humble is also important. You have to be strong for dealing with all these court situations, very detail-oriented and strong, and sometimes emotionally strong too, because you feel for those people. I try to be a positive human overall and just try to see the silver linings in life, even in a bad situation.