Empathy and active listening form the foundation of exceptional customer service and education. Leadership transcends titles, requiring steady advocacy and problem-solving. Women's diverse career experiences create powerful strengths in shaping minds and elevating customer experiences through genuine human connection.
“
One client changed how I viewed remote work forever. Their trust reminded me that great service is about listening, understanding, and being present when people need you most.
Sylvia Irene Rivera · In Her Own Words
Her Story
About Sylvia
Sylvia Rivera is a dedicated customer service professional with more than three decades of experience across childcare, customer support, and community service. She has built a diverse career that includes more than two decades as a self-employed home-based childcare provider, where she cared for children, developed educational activities, prepared meals, and managed daily administrative responsibilities. She also brings extensive customer service experience from her long tenure in telemarketing, handling both inbound and outbound calls.
In addition to her professional career, Sylvia has served as an ordained minister with the Universal Life Church since 2011, providing services including weddings, funerals, and baptisms. She is also a longtime volunteer with the American Red Cross, contributing to the organization since 1998 and supporting communities affected by major disasters. Her experience reflects a strong commitment to helping others, serving her community, and approaching responsibilities with compassion and professionalism.
Sylvia's education includes training as a Medical/Clinical Assistant at Kaplan College and a GED from Gonzales Learning Center. Her broad background has strengthened her skills in customer support, communication, critical thinking, attention to detail, and organization. Today, she continues to apply her extensive experience and people-focused approach as a Customer Service Representative, bringing reliability, adaptability, and a genuine commitment to serving others to her professional work.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Sylvia
01What do you attribute your success to?
I attribute my success to the strong support of my husband and my willingness to take things one step at a time. I approach each opportunity with commitment and give my full effort to whatever I take on. Staying adaptable, trusting myself, and going all in have helped me continue moving forward and achieve my goals.
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
Don't wait until you feel 100% ready to take on a challenge. Growth happens in the gap between what you currently know and what you are capable of figuring out. Trust your resourcefulness over your resume.
Your uniqueness is your superpower. Early in my career, I tried to mimic what leadership 'looked' like, but the moment I leaned into my authentic voice and perspective, doors genuinely began to open.
03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
Build your board of directors—find mentors who will advocate for you in rooms you aren't in, peers who will keep you grounded, and sponsors who will push you toward bigger opportunities. You don't have to climb alone.
Own your achievements without qualification. Women often attribute success to luck or teamwork—and while collaboration is vital, never shy away from claiming your individual impact and leadership capability.
04What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
The biggest challenge right now is keeping pace with rapid technological shifts and information overload. However, that exact challenge is also our greatest opportunity—it forces us to prioritize genuine human connection, critical thinking, and adaptability over rigid, traditional processes.
Navigating uncertainty and constant market shifts can feel daunting, but it creates a massive opening for agile thinkers. The opportunity lies in being proactive rather than reactive—leveraging new tools and creative problem-solving to turn industry disruptions into catalysts for growth.
05What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
The values that matter most to me are authenticity, perseverance, and resilience. I believe in staying true to myself, remaining committed to my goals, and not giving up when things become difficult. I remind myself to keep moving forward, because with determination and persistence, I will eventually get where I want to be.
Her Content Hub
Articles by Sylvia
From the Classroom to Customer Care: The Heart of True Leadership
Empathy as the Foundation: Leading with Heart in Education and Customer Service
From the Classroom to Customer Care: The Heart of True Leadership
That same empathy is the anchor of exceptional customer service. Whether you are comforting a worried parent, calming a frustrated client, or guiding someone toward a solution, customer service is rooted in empathy and active listening. It is about making people feel heard, valued, and respected. In both teaching and customer care, success is measured by trust. When clients or students know you genuinely care about their experience, loyalty and confidence naturally follow.
Transitioning between or balancing experiences in education and customer service proves that leadership isn't about a title—it is about impact. Both fields require you to be a steady anchor, a problem-solver, and an advocate.
As women balancing dynamic career paths, our diverse experiences are our greatest strengths. Whether you are shaping young minds or elevating the customer experience, your voice matters. Lead with your heart, lean into your adaptability, and never underestimate the power of human connection.
Discover why a nonlinear career path filled with diverse experiences, adaptability, and resilience can be more valuable than a traditional corporate trajectory in building meaningful professional growth.
The Long Road: What Working Behind the Scenes Taught Me About Leadership
Why your unconventional career path might be your greatest professional asset.
The Value of a Nonlinear Career
When we think of career success, we often picture a straight, upward climb. We envision climbing a clear corporate ladder, securing impressive titles, and executing a carefully designed master plan from day one.
But my own professional journey has looked entirely different.
Over the years, my path has taken me through many different spaces—from caregiving and healthcare administration to customer service and communication roles. For a long time, I wondered whether this varied background meant I was missing a definitive direction.
It is easy to look at people with linear careers and feel as though you are falling behind when your own story includes detours, career changes, and starting over in entirely new industries.
What I have learned, however, is that the detours are often where the real growth happens.
Working behind the scenes—whether managing sensitive communications, supporting healthcare teams, or caring for others—teaches you a different kind of leadership.
It teaches patience.
It develops empathy.
It sharpens your attention to detail.
And it reminds you that every role, no matter how quiet or administrative, contributes to keeping the wheels turning for everyone else.
Those experiences may not always come with impressive titles, but they can build skills that cannot be learned from a job description alone.
True professional growth is not about having a glamorous title or an unbroken streak of victories.
It is about adaptability.
It is about having the quiet resilience to walk into a new environment, learn the ropes, ask questions, make mistakes, and find your footing when everything feels unfamiliar.
It is about realizing that starting over does not mean starting from nothing.
You bring everything you have already learned with you.
If your career has not looked like a straight line, take heart.
The diverse experiences you have gathered—the adaptability, empathy, problem-solving skills, perspective, and willingness to learn something new from the ground up—may be precisely what makes your voice valuable.
You do not need a traditional trajectory to become a thought leader.
Sometimes, the most grounded wisdom comes from the people who simply rolled up their sleeves, showed up for the work, learned along the way, and kept going.
Your career does not have to make sense to everyone else.
It just needs to continue making you stronger, wiser, and more capable of contributing something meaningful.
The path may not have been straight. That does not mean it was wasted.
Sometimes, the winding road is what gives you the perspective to lead when you finally arrive where you are meant to be.
Join Influential Women and start making an impact. Register now.