Kenya A.

I attribute my success to the communities I've been in and having mentors throughout my life. My violin teachers and peers from the Harmony Project program, which I was part of from middle school through 12th grade, have been incredibly influential. I still talk to quite a few people I graduated from that program with, and I think we motivate each other by seeing and learning from the impact we're all having. A lot of us are in education - quite a few are teachers, whether music teachers or general teachers, or advisors. I actually have quite a few friends that are advisors as well that I grew up with. We were all in helping fields and wanted to have an impact on others that may align with our identity, whether being first in their family, first generation, or low income. Now that I'm pregnant with my first child and thinking about my stepson who just started middle school, that motivates me even more. I think having peers motivating each other and seeing the great work we're doing has been key to my success.

The best career advice I've received was from my teachers and mentors who told me to explore different areas and volunteer in areas that I think I might be interested in. When I was in my undergrad years, they encouraged me to get my feet wet in different things to see if I really enjoyed them or not. One of my teachers from elementary school, Mr. Alvarez, told me something that really stuck with me - that it's a win even if you find out that you don't like something, because then you can pursue areas that are more of a fit or more of an interest. It's about gaining skills and learning what resonates with you. That advice helped me volunteer at elementary schools, at my old music program where I became a mentor, and try different roles until I found what I was passionate about.

I think the most important thing is to find your support system and try to find mentors. I know a lot of my mentors have been female, and I think finding those people that you feel you can talk to about how you're feeling, where you're headed, and getting advice is crucial. This is especially important when things come up and you have to make certain decisions. For me, having a community - whether it's one person or two people in your life that you talk to consistently - has been invaluable. Some of my mentors from my music program and my supervisors, even though I don't work with them anymore, have been there for me. My previous supervisor is someone I reach out to when I have something that I'm unsure about, like should I apply for this, should I pursue that. She's been great at motivating me and helping me prepare, whether it's with my resume, cover letter, or the interview itself. But it's not just mentors - I think it's also peers that are in similar fields. Having friends who I can talk to and get advice from has been essential to my growth and success.

I think there's been a lot of funding cuts, not just for staff but also for students. The biggest challenge is trying to navigate those cuts as a team in my department - figuring out how we can use the resources that we have to still be able to support our students as much as we can. We're trying to find different resources and be as fair as possible with the resources we have in how we're utilizing them with students. For example, last year my job was cut. I found out in September that my last day was in October, so I had just a month to figure things out. Luckily, because it wasn't a performance cut but rather the program being cut, the University of California was able to align me with this new job. I was thankful they were able to find this new position for me that aligned with a similar job title and similar pay, and the team was interested in my skills and willing to keep me on board. I've never been jobless since I graduated - I've always had a steady job - so this was the first time I experienced that kind of uncertainty. Education has really taken a hit, and navigating these funding challenges while still providing quality support to students is the biggest challenge we're facing right now.

I would say caring, honesty, consistency, and communication are the most important values to me. I think being consistent and showing up is crucial - showing that you're there for people. Communication is essential in everything I do, whether it's with students, colleagues, or in my personal relationships. Being caring and honest in my interactions helps build trust and allows me to truly support the people I work with. Adaptability is also something that's become very important to me. When I worked at the brand new center in Merced, there were a lot of changes and new policies being implemented, so my supervisor actually used the word 'pivot' to describe what we needed to do. Pivot and adaptability have become key values because in education, especially with all the funding cuts and changes happening, you have to be able to adjust while still maintaining those core values of caring for others and communicating honestly.