Girly Power

When I left Puerto Rico with a one-way ticket to Orlando, I carried little more than my mother’s rosary, a folder of recipes scribbled by my abuela, and a heart full of dreams. The humid air of my new city reminded me of home, but everything else felt different—colder, despite the Florida sun. At twenty-one, I barely spoke English. My first job was at a bakery where I spent … [Read more...] about From Pan to Plan: Layla’s Success Story

When I first walked into the “Women Who Work Wonders” career support group, I felt like an imposter. My resume was a tragic tale of dead-end temp jobs and a single, failed attempt at starting a sock subscription service. I mean, who wouldn’t want new socks every month? Turns out, everyone. The meeting was held in the back room of a coffee shop, where the smell of burnt … [Read more...] about Career Girl Chronicles

The hum of the machines has been the soundtrack of my life for as long as I can remember. As a kid, I’d tag along with my dad to the factory on weekends, watching him work the massive presses and listening to the clang of steel. Back then, I never imagined I’d end up here, not as another face on the line but as the first female foreman this factory has ever had. The title … [Read more...] about Breaking the Mold

I remember the day I walked into the building for the first time. The polished floors gleamed under the fluorescent lights, and the faint aroma of coffee hung in the air. I was 22, fresh out of college, and clutching my new receptionist ID badge like it was my golden ticket to a better life. Little did I know that the journey ahead would test every ounce of my … [Read more...] about Breaking the Glass Ceiling

The alarm buzzed at 4:30 a.m., sharp and unforgiving. I groaned, tempted to roll over and steal another hour of sleep, but something deeper pulled me out of bed. Quietly, so as not to wake the kids, I slipped into my running shoes. The house was still, the only sound the soft hum of the refrigerator. This was my time—my stolen hours from a day packed with demands I couldn’t … [Read more...] about Running the Distance