Migdalia Gonzalez

I attribute my success to perseverance, determination, and focus. I had to become an adult at 15 and take care of myself, and then at age 23, the universe had me adopt my newborn nephew even though I didn't want a child. I had to put all my dreams on hold - I wanted to be in the Air Force, I wanted to be a police officer, but instead I raised him through all his challenges. That was the hardest job, but anything else outside of that is nothing. What I've learned is that we can all come from one place, but that doesn't dictate your future. We all came from the same cloth, but I decided to swing my fabric in a different direction. It's all about fear - you can either face everything and run, or you can face everything and rise. I decided to stick with the humans, even though it's difficult. I believe in being human first and realizing we're having a human experience right here, right now. If we do things with a cleaner mind and cleaner heart, focusing on the good adjectives that humans can be, we can move forward. My philosophy is simple: we're all small angels of God, and what we do is spread our wings to one patient every day. As long as you can make a difference to someone, that's what matters.

Migdalia draws influence from her life experiences, the patients she has served, and the professional community around her, all of which have shaped her perspective and approach to care and leadership.

I tell young women that not all of us come from that traditional high school to college to career path. I did everything backwards - I had to become an adult at 15, and I didn't start this career until I was 44. But you know what? It can be done. I know that not all of us come with a silver spoon in our mouths, but that doesn't mean that you can't do it if you really want it. You have to jump in the bandwagon or keep running behind. We need to stop screaming and start moving forward with action. I don't want to hear the BS, I want to see your passion actually come to life. We have a lot of work to do, not only for ourselves but for the ones that are coming behind us. That's where the status quo ends - we do not do status quo. Women also need to not fall too far on the other side of the balance beam. We've got to keep it balanced, because it's not all about the money. We need to remind everyone that you will die one day and take nothing with you. My motto is: I am going to die living. Until I die, I am going to live every day, because that's the only thing that is guaranteed in our lives.

One of the biggest challenges in occupational therapy right now is compensation - the pay is really bad, to be frank. We have the Medicare system that a lot of therapists depend on, and these clinicians don't know how to think outside the box. But there are incredible opportunities if you know what's outside the box and what you can provide. I just had a student hired by a company called Senior Proof that works with Aging in Place along with Home Depot. They're creating homes for people 55 and over in all these new builds, and they're hiring occupational therapists because we know how to home-proof for aging in place. There's a lot of opportunity to get involved in different sectors. We all want our parents to stay at home safely - I know I don't want to be in a skilled nursing facility when I get older. Occupational therapy is very big all over outside of the United States, so there are global opportunities as well. We have such a big scope - we don't have to just focus on ADLs like everybody thinks. We've lost the human touch, and I'm not robotic. Another challenge is that we've all been demoted from professional status to not professional status recently. But the opportunity is in showcasing occupational therapy across the lifespan, across the realm of everything, and getting people to understand how we can make things intertwine with each other.

The most important value to me is being human first and maintaining that human connection. There's no other way to get to a person unless you get to them mentally and in their heart - it's all about rapport. All that bedside manner that we learned back in the baby boomer generation, Gen X, and the golden generation really comes into play. I'm concerned about the future generations not having those skills that were pretty normal and easy for us back then. I believe in providing a therapeutic ear and really listening - you can get to the heart of people because people just don't know, and they fear, and when they fear, that's where aggression gets in. That's all through knowledge, so I'm big on educating. I only have patience for my patients - everyone who knows me knows very clearly what I mean by that. I believe we're all small angels of God, and what we do is spread our wings to one patient every day. As long as you can make a difference to someone, that's what matters. The human being is the same, and right now that's the only thing I can count on. I believe in the truth, and I believe in leading by example - that's the only way you're going to make a difference. I'm not interested in status quo or being complacent. My other motto is: I am going to die living, so until I die, I am going to live every day, because that's the only thing guaranteed in our lives.