Thursday Jul 28, 2022

Ep. 53 - Surviving to Thriving

*ACTIVATION WARNING: Brief mention of suicide in this episode.*

One of my lowest career moments was my second year working as an Admission Counselor. I had lost all drive and motivation to succeed. I was constantly exhausted and I felt like I was terrible at my job. One day after a particularly exhausting event, I remember walking to my car and sitting in the driver’s seat. I just sat there just trying to breathe. I decided to call my mom and before I know it, I’m sobbing.

I don’t remember specifically what I said to her, but I do remember that I referred to myself as “worthless” and “horrible.”

I will never forget that phone call.

Pretty soon after that, I transitioned out of that role, then that institution altogether.

Thinking back to that time, I know I could have done better in the role, but so much of how I navigated the institution itself (the systems, the rules, the politics, etc.) was just me surviving. Although I left the institution, bits of those feelings of worthlessness and horribleness followed me to a few other organizations I worked at. It wasn’t until I made the decision to find MY community that I was actually able to move out of survival mode and learn what it meant for me to have a thriving career.

This week, I am joined by the amazing, Katherine Castro, proud mother of two Chamorro-Panamian-Italian children, co-founder of Parenting Backwards, board member of Finadenne, and social justice advocate to talk about her own story of surviving in the world of tech and her process to becoming a thriving multi-hyphenate badass. Katherine also drops her three golden tips for navigating organizations that were not designed for employees of color and how she started a community where the sole purpose is for DEIB practitioners to “give and receive.”

As mentioned at the top, there is some brief conversation about suicide in this episode. If you're in crisis, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255), or contact the Crisis Text Line by texting TALK to 741741.

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