Stories of a Fearless Trailblazer
The lived experience of first-generation women is full of enormous amounts of pressure, stress, and trauma,
but not without resiliency, courage, and triumph.
The pressure to learn, navigate and teach, fulfill the dreams of our loved ones, or
maintain certain cultural traditions and expectations, we experience it all.
We would like to share your story and empower other first-generation women.
Our Stories
Alejandra Carbajal
As a first-generation Latina, I have had the privilege of navigating higher education and professionalism through resilience. My journey started in community college, where I discovered the opportunities that education could provide for upward mobility. Today I am proud to share that I have used my experiences to help other first-gen students succeed through their own journies of being first. I have worked in the nonprofit sector in career readiness roles for four years and led recruitment efforts in the last two years. In my roles I started with adults reentering the workforce, then high school students, and now college students, all with the goal of supporting others' support to access opportunities for their own economic mobility.
Juliana Londoño
Hi! I am Juliana Londoño (she/her/ella) and I am a proud Latina, bilingual & licensed mental health therapist! I recognize I am in a field dominated by white, cis-gender females and with theories developed by white, cis-gender males. I wanted to become a therapist to be the person I did not have growing up. Representation matters, especially in the mental health field. Only about 10% of all mental health professionals across the country even speak Spanish, yet Latinos are the largest minority in the US. I started my own business to bridge the gap between mental health and the Latino/BIPOC communities. Through education, awareness, and resources, I hope to help start and/or shift the conversations about mental health. I heard this quote during my undergraduate experience: "I may be the first, but I will not be the last." Being fearless oftentimes represents being the first, but I will make sure to uplift my community and give them a seat at my table.
