Leslie Licea

I would say my family. I think, overall, we've been through a lot of difficult things, but at the end of the day, when I'm having a bad day, or when I need a pick-me-up, or whenever I need support, they're the ones that are there, that have, you know, hear me cry, push me to reach the finish line, and, you know, whenever things go bad, they're there. When things are good, they're there, so I want to attribute it to my family. And God.

I have a mentor within the company that was my manager in the beginning, and he always had a saying that's really stuck with me. I think it's really helped boost my confidence and how I approach things. He would always say, what's the best that could happen? I was always, like, the negative point of view where, you know, this could go wrong, this could go wrong, or what if we do this, this could happen. Instead, it's really shifted my mindset to what's the best that could happen? And now, when I approach something that I'm afraid to approach, or when I'm going into a new adventure, I always think, well, what's the best thing that could happen? And I've found that by shifting that perspective, it's really helped me be more brave and confident and find the best in everything. So it's sort of like seeing the glass half full instead of half-empty type of thing.

I always said that if I was younger, looking for a career opportunity, I really wish somebody would have told me about mining. I live in Arizona, which is a mining state, and a lot of people, including myself, didn't know that at one point. If someone had reached out to me earlier and had given me, like, hey, check out this mining industry, there's a lot of opportunities, my life probably would have turned out a lot differently. I went to school for hotel and restaurant management. I wanted to run, like, a resort or a hotel, and COVID really shifted that for me. A lot of my friends that did go into the hotel and restaurant industry, unfortunately, at a corporate level, where they were, like, managers or directors, lost their jobs, and they had to go back to the bottom of the totem pole. Finding Epiroc was sort of a blessing in disguise at that point, because I lost my job because of COVID, and I had to sort of start over, and finding a new industry was really life-changing for me. I think really looking at all the possible opportunities, one, is something that I would say, and then two, don't be afraid to start over. Sometimes when one door closes, another one opens, and I'm the perfect example of that, and I truly believe that something better always comes up, and it might not seem like it at the moment, but it's the biggest blessing that has happened in my life.

I think a major challenge that I've faced within mining has been that it's a very male-dominated industry. I've been very lucky to have found Epiroc, because Epiroc is really open to changing that dynamic, and I've never felt unsupported, or unheard of, or, you know, unheard throughout meetings or anything like that. They really focus on shifting that mindset, and so I've really just become aware that that's a thing within the mining industry. It was also major through the automotive industry, but just seeing that shift is really impactful and exciting to see how things are changing. In terms of opportunities, there's really a shift for women in the mining industry, and a lot of companies, including my company, are really focusing on opening more diversity, not just with women, but different dynamics. In that sense, within the industry, there's a lot of opportunities for allowing women to be upper management and to continue growing within the industry. Within myself, I really don't know what my next step is, but I was very lucky to have found a manager that worked hard to advocate for me, and he's really put me in a position where I'm a lead in my position, and have a direct report. Seeing that really motivates me and keeps me excited to continue in my current role, but if a new opportunity were to come up within the data side of or AI side of the business, then that might be a good next step for me in the future.

I would say a very important one is authenticity. Family is another one. Gratitude is important to me, staying thankful to life, and God, and family. Compassion is another value I hold. Integrity, I think, is another good one, being true to who I am and letting that be visible through the work that I perform and what I do. Leadership, I think, helping others be successful and, you know, help them shine. And I also think perseverance is a big one for me, too, because I've been through a lot of obstacles in my life, and I think it's important to keep that one in mind for me.