I was born in Venezuela and lived there for 14 years until it became too challenging for me and moved to the United States. I left my country, family, friends, and school behind. Even though leaving my country was not the easiest decision for me, I have been able to cope living in the U.S for 3 years now. In these 3 years, I have achieved a lot, starting with being accepted to Girls Inc. Metro Denver.

I heard about the organization through my counselor from Thornton High School. She called me and mentioned to me that there was an organization called Girls Inc. In Metro Denver that I could become a part of. I started with their summer internship at the end of my freshmen year and that is how I became involved. In June, I celebrate one year of being part of the organization.

The program that I participate in is Leadership Out Loud. I love this program because it has helped me develop as a person. When I first arrived in the United States, I did not speak English at all and was extremely shy. I was embarrassed to speak the language at first because I was afraid that people would laugh at me. However, Girls Inc. has helped me develop my communication, responsibility, leadership, and time management skills. The ability to be part of a safe space environment along with being able to network with other girls, has allowed me to express myself easily. In fact, in Leadership Out Loud, I practice speaking English and have been losing my fear of speaking the language.

I have proved to be STRONG, SMART, and BOLD because I was able to get involved with Girls Inc, the summer internship, and the leadership program and win one of the scholarships in a short amount of time. This taught me that every effort has a lesson and that you are capable of achieving your goals. Girls Inc. has inspired me to want to start my non-profit organization that can provide mental health services and resources to any individual regardless of race, gender etc. when I graduate. Language can be a barrier when it comes to requesting mental health resources and I have seen that there are not many resources for people who speak Spanish, but there are many Spanish speakers who do not have the resources to be able to express themselves in their language. My goal is to help change this situation. Apart from the non-profit, I would also like to have a career in psychology.

My experience with Girls Inc. has been interesting because everything that I am learning is different from what I had previously been used to. In my home country, we do not have programs like these. To be part of this environment, where they speak about social justice or events that happen daily has been truly interesting. Girls Inc. makes me feel part of their community and makes me feel supported.

A piece of advice that I’d like to share with the Girls from Girls Inc. Metro Denver is that it does not matter where you come from, your race, gender, sexuality, or the language you speak, you can grow and achieve everything you set your mind to.