The Entrepreneurship & Innovation Studio

Digital Nest: Community Innovation and Development with Monica Escamilla

• Stanislaus State • Season 1 • Episode 3

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Join us as we unravel Monica Escamilla's journey into entrepreneurship and innovation—rooted in her Venezuelan heritage and upbringing in Modesto, California. Currently serving as Center Director for the non-profit Digital NEST, Monica's worldview is significantly shaped by her experiences living in a melting pot of immigrants. A fascinating tale of self-discovery and identity formation, her story is about understanding an individual's position and purpose. 

Monica's perspective differs from traditional business narratives, highlighting the need for sustainable success rather than mere survival. She spotlights this narrative shift among Latinos—from necessity-driven to opportunity-driven entrepreneurship, inspiring a new generation to create generational wealth intentionally. Monica's persona undoubtedly serves as a dynamic beacon, guiding aspiring entrepreneurs to explore the transformative role of entrepreneurial activities in community development and societal impact.

Monica Escamilla is the Center Director at the Modesto location of Digital NEST, a non-profit organization dedicated to empowering underserved Latinx youth through technology education.

Co-produced by the Warrior Entrepreneurship and Innovation program and the Office of Strategic Communications and Marketing at Stanislaus State. The E&I Studio is edited and recorded in the KCSS studios on the campus of Stanislaus State.
The views expressed by guests on this podcast are not necessarily those of the University.

Welcome to the Entrepreneurship and Innovation Studio, where we explore the passion and the purpose behind some of the amazing people in our community and above all, their stories. I'm Dr. Pablo Paredes Romero. In all my career, I've been fascinated by entrepreneurship and innovation. From the moment an idea is scribbled on a napkin drawn on a tablet white-boarded, spoken out loud in the shower, in the car on the way to someone's nine to five, it's all about the work and the art behind the venture. Monica Escamilla is one of the lights of the world. She brings a natural warmth to every conversation. Her journey in entrepreneurship and innovation may, you could say, be non traditional. It's not about an innovative service, product, or venture. It's not about an adventure in venture capital. It's a remarkable journey of self discovery and identity, all of which ultimately speak to one's place in the world in their time. I think the most brilliant thing about Monica is that she really does seem blissfully unaware of how special she is and what she does for young people whom she serves here in the Valley. Love, as it turns out, is its own centrifuge for enterprise. Welcome, Monica. Hi, Pablo. Thank you very much for inviting me here today. I want to talk about community. Tell me about the community in which you grew up. I would say I'm pretty homegrown here to the Stanislaus County, specifically Modesto. And the community I grew up in was a community of hardworking immigrant individuals, families, friends trying to live or live out the American dream. Specifically, my parents, my family, cousins, uncles and family friends that ended up creating an amazing club called the Latino Espanol Americano Club of Stanislaus. Modesto specifically. So that was a place where I think I learned what community was about. So this club, was it a social club? What was the nature of the organization? It was a social club. I think it was a social club where the Latino Americanos from this area were really trying to connect with each other. They actually came from different pathways, whether it was through the community college pathway to learn English or they knew somebody that came here to this community and then followed along and to be close to family. So it was interesting because it was a community of a diverse group of individuals from different parts of Latin America. Remember growing up with Cubans and Nicaraguans and Colombians here in the Central Valley? Here in the Central Valley. And so with that, it was a unique way to find community and representation. Early on, as a kid growing up, we would do fun events, go camping, and then as we grew up, though, that kind of started dissipating as the second generation had different struggles, I guess, to build community. And we all kind of went separate ways. I remember that as early on, my first experience of what community was like. What from that or those sets of experiences from that time in your life is imprinted in your DNA. I think the first thing that comes to mind is keeping the spirit of what that social club was about in supporting and representing diversity within our own Latin American cultures. What from that place in time do you think has made you who and what you are today? Well, it made me realize that as a Latina and a Latina here in California Modesto, where predominantly the Latinos are from Mexico, to really stay true to my roots as a Latina born in Venezuela, my mother's from Venezuela, my dad's from Colombia, so really staying true to my roots. But that was difficult growing up in being almost like the minority within the minority groups. Wow. Here locally. How did that play out? Like, what did you notice from those years that's still that you remember? I think outside of the group from the social club, it was hard to connect the way that I grew up, the foods, mostly the foods, and I think especially where my dad's from in Colombia, it's just a completely different culture in terms of being very free spirited. Sure. Seeing that and then going into also some of the dialect. Right. The way that we speak Spanish versus speaking Spanish amongst my other Latino peers that were from Mexico, that was challenging too, to not say certain words that mean other words. You just can't say that mean totally different things. I'm familiar with that. And I'll keep those words off of this podcast, but we all know. And so just navigating that as a young person, it was hard because, again, as a social club, and those of us that were in that first generation kind of went on and started living out, I guess you could say, our parents. American dream. We ended up not getting together. That social club fell apart. And as many times as I think they would try to bring it back, everyone just was now living out a different life at a different capacity. But it must be a wonderful timepiece. Oh, absolutely. When I do run into some of the people that were my age, the kids at that time, we always go back to telling those fun stories. I was actually they would do the crowning of the reina, the queen, all that stuff. And so I was one of the ones that was crowned years ago. And yeah, there's a lot of fun stories that we go back and I think that was a good time in my childhood. I like to go back and remember. So your family gatherings consist of comida Venezuelana, Venezuelan food, comida Colombiana, Colombian food, comida Americana, Mexican food as well. So that's wow. I'm officially jealous. That's a fantastic mix. Absolutely no food. US. In our culture, food is everything. Along with have we got to have. A certain amount of caffeine to make everything work? You're originally from Venezuela and you grew up in Modesto was there leaving and coming back. How did that play was? I literally was birthed in Venezuela, and then my parents already had a plan to have the family come to the US. And what that meant was, my dad was already in Miami. My mom gave birth to me in Venezuela. I'd say about five months later. We met up with my dad in, and he, you know, we had family in Miami. That's kind of the natural, organic trajectory for those from south America is end up in Miami. We all end up in Miami at some point. Yes, we do. I mean, it's the port of entry, right? Absolutely. And so my dad had already established his life in the US. A bit and had gotten an apartment for us. And then from there, he joked around and said, wow, these cubans are a lot. They're a lot they have a lot of energy. They were definitely something where my dad was like, okay, this is not a quiet place for us to raise a. Family, if that's what you're looking okay. If that's what you're looking for. Yeah. Miami's having lived there for years as well, it's amazing, isn't it? Like, the mosaic of so many different Latino nationalities all in one place. Not a huge city, per se. So things like noise levels, music, all that kind of stuff. Yeah, we do compete for one space, and we're not shy about it. No, not at all. Not at all. No, trust me. I love my guano friends. And, man, the food. Going back to food, I actually joke around, and I'm like, why did we leave Miami? But my dad was just looking for a quieter community to grow a family. Sure. And that meant modesto. And why modesto? I was about to ask that Hawaii, the Central Valley, like Miami to Modesto difference. Absolutely. Day and night. In the late 70s, early 80s, my dad and I believe my uncle was also a part of a sister city program. That several cities sign up, raise funds, and then build collaboration or an opportunity for young students or students that want to learn english. Through whether it's the university or the community colleges. They have the opportunity to get a visa, to learn English and spend time here. And it's specifically the city identifies what other city they want to have that collaboration with. And it just happened to be baranquia, Colombia, which is where my dad's from. Okay. And also shakira. That was where my dad's plan to come to Modesto came from. Before I was born, he had already spent some time here in Modesto, so that gave him that thought. When he was in Miami while looking for a quieter place he already knew. Modesto back in the 80s was that quiet town that he wanted to build his American dream. What has the word community come to mean to you in your life? Community to me, means really a place and a group of people that support each other regardless of backgrounds, experiences, cultures. Yet they still come together to be able to create a better place to live, not just for themselves, but for those in the future, the next generation. How has the business community here in the Central Valley evolved over time and the time that you've been here? It's interesting because organically I kind of became a part of the business community, being that my dad was an entrepreneur for 40 years. And so all I really knew was entrepreneurship and business and knowing back then as a person and speaking about my dad, a person that didn't speak English yet was able to identify opportunities to find his niche, his clientele, to grow a business was not as easy, but he managed to do it. Nowadays, it's changed so much. There's so much competition, social media, but it's also where it brings so much awareness of the power that Latinos have in the business community. And I think that there's a lot of things that the business community doesn't take advantage or even just in the economic development doesn't take advantage of that power. How do you mean? What I mean is that there's been statistics on how much revenue and how much Latinos contribute to the economy. There's a gap in being able to strengthen those businesses so that they start learning what it means to build wealth through the businesses instead of just making a living. That's the shift that has changed in terms of what does it mean to run a successful business? I think there's still a lot of Latinos that start businesses out of survival mode instead of thinking of being intentional on how to create generational wealth out of that business. I think that's what I experienced with my dad. My dad obviously started the business as a survival mode. This is what we need to do. My uncle had a tax business. My dad decided to start learning the tax business through my uncle and then he branched off and started his own. But really that's just again to put food on the table, right? So it's necessity versus opportunity. Entrepreneurship is necessity in the case of your family. Exactly. And now I think there's a shift because there's a lot of opportunities. But how do we help our Latino community or Latino entrepreneurs navigate those opportunities? Where do you see it that specifically all going? If we start looking at entrepreneurship as an opportunity to really start educating our Latino entrepreneurs to build a solid foundation in their business from the beginning and what does that mean? Helping them be able to change that mindset of instead of a necessity, seeing entrepreneurship as an opportunity, like you said. What role do you think that solidarity and cooperation, partnerships within the community mean to making that possible, creating more cultural. Relevant resources, meeting them where they're at, language, appropriate materials and first and foremost, our Latino community. And just I think in community in general is learning how we can build. Trust amongst ourselves or amongst ourselves. Amongst ourselves. I think there's a lot of great professionals in our community that have a lot of wisdom to share, I think in our culture to hold that wisdom due to competition or what that means. But it happens. And I think there is an opportunity for our community and those that do have that wisdom to pour into others, especially if they're entrepreneurs, and to be able to see it as an opportunity to help others. If they rise, we rise together. There are amazing numbers, incredible numbers. As far as the impact that Latino and just entrepreneurship in general have in being able to create jobs and opportunities, that impact is being seen and the thriving entrepreneurship is being seen in larger areas. There's a gap here in our Central Valley. I've noticed something very similar to what you're talking about. I always wonder what it is that drives that sort of silo mentality thinking. And you think in terms of culture, irrespective of any culture, really. There's just a lot of silo, mentality thinking, lack of cooperation, artificial competition, unnecessary competition, I guess you could say that I've noticed as well. Let's assume, and I know that you're very active in the community in terms of mentoring and giving back, sending the elevator down. It's always been something very prevalent in your career. What is the single most important thing you would tell a young person compelled to serve the community in the Central Valley? About the Central Valley, if you really. Want to see impact and change, you will definitely see it in the Central Valley. And what I mean by that is there's so much already happening in the Bay Area, in Southern California and a lot of great things. But I would say having lived in Southern California and seen the trends and seeing what's happening and coming back to the Central Valley, that's where we know that a community like this is about five years behind the change, the trends, it's kind of what I gauged. And so being five years or so behind what's happening in the larger cities, having the perspective of a large city and what's been happening and kind of doing the research of what's going on and of what we don't have, and bringing it here to the table, I think provides a large impact. And it may impact a smaller group of people, but it's impactful either way because it's bridging a gap. What would you say has been your most powerful learning experience as a community leader and professional? I would say learning how to be resourceful. Being resourceful has, I think, opened so many doors in getting to know people and learning other people's perspectives. The first thing I ended up doing, coming back and I guess we'll talk more about my trajectory, as I keep saying, coming back to Modesto but it was really something that I saw it as a purpose to learn all the things that's happening here in the community. And as I would get out there or force myself at first to get out there and force yourself? Oh, yeah. It wasn't easy at first to do this thing called networking, right? That's a skill in itself. And I remember in 2014, I had to get out there if I wanted to make something happen in our community or be a part of it and be a part of the impact. Learning about resources gave me an opportunity to connect with people, to see what people need. Even if I didn't need the resource, at least I wanted to become that person that was that individual they just go to, and then I would be able to guide them in the right direction, almost like when you call the operator and then they send you over to a bunch of different people. I didn't want that. When people came to meet me, I wanted to be that person. So I learned to be resourceful, to be a community connector. And I think that's where I initiated the way that I would network with people is always thinking, how can I help them? Instead of it being something selfish, because I didn't know what I wanted. I didn't even have a business. I was trying to figure out who I was in the community, but the one thing that I knew was helping people. So by means of connecting people to people exactly. That's got to come from somewhere that's vocation. Like, if you didn't have a business and you hadn't established yourself yet, at this point, I'm going back to 2014 when how did you say, you know what, this is what I'm good at, and this is what I want to do, and this is what I'm going to learn? Well, it started because I had come back from spending almost 14 years in San Diego, went to school, and said I was never going to move back to my hometown, ever. But once I started getting involved in community where my roots weren't, it was difficult. So I wanted to come back and really kind of tap into that curiosity of what my purpose in life was to be. And so there was no other place but home, even though in the back of my mind, I was like, oh, man, why am I leaving San Diego? Well, there is the weather, right? Yes, there's definitely the weather and a lot of things to do. It was a culture shock coming back. And so with that, I remember I was kind of halfway in. I had 1ft in here in Modesto and the other foot still hanging out in San Diego. Well, I mean, you were there for what, how many? 14 years. Okay, that's a pretty good amount of time. Actually, it's been eight years since I've been back, so that was interesting. Because I remember I spent the whole summer saying, oh, I'm going to stay here. I'm going to figure out what I'm going to do. But I was still applying to jobs in San Diego. Okay. That's what I meant by having 1ft in and the other foot still in San Diego. I remember having a conversation with a really good friend, and that's one thing is I recommend finding friends that are not always going to tell you what you want to hear. And a really good friend, his name is Rob, so shout out to Rob. He ended up actually speaking truth to me and said, Why are you running away? Because I kept going back to San Diego almost every weekend during the summer, reconnecting with friends, and never really actually setting my 2ft in Modesto. And when he said, Why are you running away? I said, oh, gosh, here he is speaking truth to me. I go, I don't know, maybe because I'm afraid. I'm afraid because I don't know what I want to do. And he said, well, you said you want to impact your community. I said, yeah, I just don't know how. Where were you academically at that point of your journey when you're having when Rob directly to you about this? Where were you then? I actually had already graduated with my Master's in Business Administration before I moved back. I was at, I would say at the top of my game in my career. I was 33, 34, and I was leading a team of 20 at a software company high rise in San Diego. There you go. It was like, oh, wow. I think at that point, I would say I made it. It was during tough economic times and different shifts that were happening that it was ready for me to make a career change. At the same time, the community was calling, I guess you would say. So that's where I was. I did have my master's degree, came back, and that was an interesting journey in itself. We talk a lot in academic circles, in business circles as well. Now, about lifelong learning, what does lifelong learning mean to you? Lifelong learning means just staying curious about how you can improve on just the things about life in general, whether it's learning how to mentor. I remember all of a sudden I getting asked to mentor. And what does that mean, really? Just researching how to be a good mentor to others or personal development. I think I've done a lot in the last couple of years of continuously learning about personal development and then also about the economy, the economic development, and how that impacts our people in the different spaces that I've been involved in. Again. Business has always been a part of my DNA, getting my degree in Business Administration and my bachelor's in Business management, being around entrepreneurship and then identifying the big picture of what that looks like for other people that want to get into entrepreneurship. And then what does that mean for me too, as a person that maybe in the back of my mind has wanted to start a business, but realizing that I'm more impactful learning about starting a business and helping others while I'm able to tap into my purpose that's aligned with community. And for me, minor star was to either start a nonprofit or lead the start of a nonprofit. In our. Know, one of the missions here at the we at Stan State is to expand the definition of entrepreneurship to include things like entrepreneurship under the right circumstances, having enough autonomy to be able to change systems, organizations, institutions from the inside. Social entrepreneurship exactly what you're talking about right now. What people have come to know as entrepreneurship, starting small businesses and what have you. And it seems like your career. And if I'm wrong, tell me. There's a sort of alchemy at play and at work with your upbringing, environment, education, and then the vocation that starts you become aware of, is that anywhere near? Does that resonate with you? It does. Regardless of the roles that I've taken on professionally, I've always had this entrepreneurial spirit. And when I actually, again, through curiosity and research and trying to identify how do I live out my entrepreneurial spirit without actually starting a business. And I always realized, like, taking ownership of a project, taking ownership of things that I know that I could have a bit more control of. And when I realized that term, I said, oh, wow, that's what I've been doing all along in my career and now living out, I guess you could say my dream job. My dream career is now leading and becoming the new center director for Digital Nest. And it's an amazing organization that has now allowed me the autonomy to create something new in our community and really make it about the community and with the community. And I think that's one thing that I recommend that even if, let's say you're starting a business, I think success comes with doing it with the community and being able to not just say that it's about yourself because people are going to know when you do it with community, it's really something that will organically grow. And you'll build that following because people know that you're building it for them as well. Who or what has been your greatest teacher? My greatest teacher, I would say it's kind of a first generational thing. Our parents become our teachers. I think mutually, both of them have taught me a lot to be who I am in terms of integrity, work ethic. But my dad really taught me a lot about having determination, grit, what that means and how I apply things. Today really brings me back to my dad's teachings and discipline. Discipline. Oh, man, discipline. So funny story, and I think I've probably shared this with a few people, but the only job that I have gotten fired from no. You guessed it. No was working for my dad. Elaborate if you want. So talking about discipline, my dad oh, man. Well, I think he knew that at the time, I was the rebellious teenager. You were a rebellious teenager? Yeah. Okay. I wasn't the saint that I am now. Okay. That's setting the bar high. Yeah. No, I definitely didn't come with the worth ethic and everything that comes with being a professional now that I had to learn later in life. But in my younger years, my dad actually said, hey, quit your fast food job and come work for me. And I said, oh, wow. Okay. He said, I'll pay you more than a fast food place. And I said, okay, deal. That was the calculus. Just to pay. Just to pay. Got it. Okay. And I ended up showing up to work, and he said, make sure you show up early. Make sure you show up on time. Make sure you're ready. And I said, okay. Well, one day I showed up ten minutes late. Ten. Okay. According to Ricardo vergara business services, that was no good. Out you're practically no show, no call, just ten minutes. Right. No show, no call, just ten minutes. And he said, nice. I know where you're at, and I know as far as what your worth ethic is like, he just ended up telling me, he said, go and ask for your job back at the fast food place. One time, ten minutes. One time, ten minutes. Talk about tough. He was a tough boss. Wow. Yeah, he was a tough boss. Awkward dinner conversation that night, or. Family conversations are always awkward, but that night but that night, yes, was absolutely extra awkward. And at that point, yeah, I did actually have to ask for my job back. Wow. And there was no grace. My dad gave me no grace. And you look back at it now. Funny story. Your own words. Funny story. How does he talk about it? Oh, I don't even think he remembers. But I remember every time I have to fill out my job experience or when I had to fill out my job experience back then. How do I explain I got fired at this job, and why does that person have the same name, last name as you? That's my dad. There's a story here. There's a story. No. So there was definitely some tough teachings around work ethic and what it meant to not fleck around, I guess you could say, to really just do the work. But I think what he was really teaching me was the life of an entrepreneur. Entrepreneurship doesn't really give you a lot of grace, and I think that's part of what he had to learn as an entrepreneur. Teachings make the teacher. If you wanted to be a teacher, what would you want to teach? That's interesting, because if I were to be a teacher, I would definitely be in the school of business. I would be in the school of business, but also talking about economics, school of business and how it aligns with economics. I think that's very specific, but it's something because the economy affects quite a bit of how businesses are able to function, especially now with inflation and pricing and things going up. And I've seen a lot of resilience happening within our entrepreneurship community, our entrepreneurial community, that I think they've again go back to survival mode. But if I can be a part of teaching some of our entrepreneurs to almost get ahead right. I think a lot of the business community is very reactive. Instead of proactive and learning about the economy, I think just even myself on the personal level, I feel that that is a skill that can benefit a lot of our businesses. It involves research. On the topic of research, what role do you believe research plays in your. Everyday life without even thinking? I think research plays a large part of my life because even when you scroll on social media that's researching, I research opportunities and how I could connect with people. I research opportunities in the community that I can go and bring awareness of different things that I'm a part of to again be resourceful and have people find out what resources can help them. For example, a part of the Latino Stanisl Latino Chamber of Commerce. So if there's an opportunity or an event that's happening in the community that I can see that someone can benefit from the chamber, then I want to attend those events and research how they can actually help me be efficient and effective in the work that I do in the community. So it does play quite a bit of a role and it helps me also be a bit more intentional of doing the work out in the community. On that topic, what role do you feel it should play for a person specifically who identifies specifically as a community servant? I think it goes back to being able to identify what opportunities are happening in the community, researching things that align with your purpose. There's so much happening all the time and you can't attend it all. You're only one person. I keep telling myself that, but I try to be there. But balance is important. But at the same time, it helps doing the research to be more intentional with your time and make sure that the things you do are aligned with your purpose. What do you enjoy researching the most? Is there anything you can geek out on? You know what, I research a lot of personal development. A lot of personal development. I geek out on things. And this is just the season that I'm in or that I've been in is what are things that I could be more self aware of about myself as a professional? Things that maybe I can learn to be more. Emotional intelligent. I think emotional intelligence is something that is a skill that a lot of us professionals, and especially as you're either building a business, starting a business, or living out your entrepreneurial spirit, you need to have because man, a lot of things can rock you emotionally. So I think there's a level of emotional intelligence that I think I'm still learning. And that's the part that I research. What approach that I can take to improve myself in that way? What is the secretly coolest part of what you do? The coolest part that I do, again, it goes back to being a community connector, but I'm able to adapt to connect with different people from all walks of life. What's cool about that is I can be in a room and I can feel like they're my people and I can connect with people in a way that could be professional, non professional, something informal. I feel like I can be a chameleon, but it's still me. And it's something that I always feel that even though I can be in different spaces, I can still be authentic and be the person that I know. I can go to sleep at night. It's such an interesting sort of paradox duality there at play where you are sort of being different people for different people, and still it's always you. How do you manage that? When I get out there in the community or do the work and I connect with people, it's never really about me, it's about that person that I'm connecting with. So I remove myself. I think I also just start removing some of the insecurities that can create some biases. Who knows what that because I really learned to just remove myself from a situation and really not make it about me. That's where I learned being that trusted community connector comes from. And I think that's I mean, I have it on my LinkedIn bio, trusted community leader. And I really say that and live it. What does the word innovation mean to you? Innovation to me is really creating out of opportunity. And Steve Jobs said it best. Innovation is the ability to see change as an opportunity and not a threat. I think when people see or communities see things as a threat, I think that hinders innovation. So if you think of it, it really is creating out of opportunity. What do people in the Central Valley see and perceive as a threat that isn't a threat, rather an opportunity? That's an interesting question because going back to living in the big city, and I don't know if it's a big city mentality or I think there's just a lot of perspectives in a larger city that it seems like innovation is a lot easier or it moves a lot quicker. So I think in a smaller town, change is difficult to see. So I think that's where it takes. And I go back to and this is just out of my own research or my own experience of seeing, even just in the economy, the housing, just everything that involves economic development that a city or communities like the Central Valley. We are about five years behind different trends and opportunities that have already come to fruition in larger cities. That means that it takes that many years for something to come to life that has already been tested and proven and already a community has adopted it, but we haven't. What does that mean? And I think that just means that it's harder for smaller cities to actually see their own potential. And because of that, it could be out of fear, not allowing innovation to do what innovation does, which creates opportunity. There are ideas, I find, and there are innovations. Take me back to a moment in which you were part of an innovation and you knew it before most people did. It could be anything, program, an outreach, you name it. So much going on in the community. What was that like? What was it? One thing about me is really kind of keeping a lot of lessons that I've learned in like a mental bank. And so I've been a part of different programs and things that I've been able to do in other roles and then just bring them in to the next role that I am a part of and then just improving on it. But I would say I'd go back because this is in the times that we're in and that we've been in even during the pandemic. It was interesting because back in 2013 or even 2012, when I was still in San Diego, the organization that I was working with, the software company, we got acquired by an organization that was international and their headquarters were in Atlanta, but they were starting to downsize San Diego. And what that meant was and people were going to start losing their jobs. But these were my peers. And I remember my general manager was like, we need to figure something out. They want the staff to either downsize or figure out something creative. And one of them was remote work. Okay? So what that meant was, how do we do remote work? In 2012, 2013, people weren't working off of their laptops. They were still, being a software company, still had desktops at our desks. So with that being said, I was responsible to lead the adaptation of changing the staff, the full staff, to remote work. But it looked interesting because what that meant was on rotation, one month a group would come into the office and then another group would stay home. And so they would rotate month by month, but carrying a big desktop every time. And I know I'm kind of going lengthy into this, but it was interesting because at the most, I wanted to make this happen. One, to make sure that the staff that I was responsible for still had jobs and two, whatever that meant. I was actually forecasting that if we're downsizing, they may actually consider closing the office completely. So if I get them to work remote or get them set up to work remotely, that meant that they would be able to retain their jobs even if the office shut down. And I think that was the part of innovation that I didn't know how much impact that was going to have. And being responsible for that was interesting because at that point I realized, wow, not that I knew what it was called, telecommuting, but that it was going to be a thing. And I got them all set up and they were able to retain their job even two, three, four, I believe, even up to five years after I left. Wow. And they had shut down that office, I want to say maybe two years or three years after I left. So I think at that point, after five years and they hadn't found a job, I think I'd be okay and I could sleep. I always say, I always go back to what's going to help me sleep at night. That's how I function. The transition from your traditional office work to remote working or working remotely, that's a huge cultural shift. It was a huge cultural shift just three years ago. The last three years have been, I want to say, and it takes change and change management. How did you manage the change culturally at that organization in order to do what you were doing in 2012? It was having to be the person that became the leader. I probably felt at the time so insecure and didn't know what was going to happen. I couldn't project that I needed to really be strong for the team and build morale along the way. So it goes back to really building up the team and empowering them, that even though we're going through these rough waters, we have a job and we're able to still put food on our tables. And at that point, too, is really being able to understand where they're coming from. I think also the way it wasn't again, about me, it was more of understanding and listening, hearing them and knowing what their concerns were throughout the transition, as I can only imagine, we had gone through a series of layoffs even before the last downsizing. And again, kind of tapping into my entrepreneurial spirit, I got to lead. I got to make sure that I take ownership of this transition. What does that mean? And it really meant doing it for the team. And that's how I was able to, again, goes back to building trust. The foundation is really building trust. Regardless of where you're at, people are going to support you as a leader if you're able to build trust with the people that you want to help. We're talking about application. What does the word mean to you in the context of a business Education Application. It means a lot, but I think I'm going to kind of go a little bit on the technical side of application, because sometimes when you are doing things in your career, you don't realize what it is or what it's called until someone actually shares it with you, whether it's at work or hey. Exactly. Or it's someone that is a mentor. As of recently, being in this role as a center director and with, again, an amazing organization, digital Monast has still, to this day, even though I'm at the level of my career, I'm still learning a lot. I think it's a fairly new organization. You'd say it's less than ten years. Okay. They're still trying to figure out some of their processes on how to be more efficient and grow as an organization. And as of recently application, they referred to what's called Bloom's Taxonomy. Does that sound familiar? More than familiar. Again, I started researching how this applies the application to my life and how I actually have been able to apply different things in various parts of my life. And I think for the most part, yeah, it resonates quite a bit with Bloom's Taxonomy. So for those of you that don't know what it is, I encourage you to research. And what it means is it goes back to what I've been reflecting, what I've been doing. Again, I didn't know what to name it, but I would remember. So it starts with recalling, recognizing information and ideas, and then understanding for me, understanding different perspectives, different views, the curiosity of research and reading to then actually get to the point where I feel confident. And even when I don't feel confident right, you start applying things. That, again, goes to entrepreneurship. When you're starting a business, you just apply things without any context. But it's important to really start with an idea of research, to then be able to apply something to where you can lift off the ground intentionally. It's funny, you bring up Luz Taxonomy, and it started making me think about my own background in adult learning theory and experiential learning, teaching. It all seems to come together at a certain point in terms of our cognition. Tell me about a time when it all came together for you, when you applied the different things from your different career experiences that have made your career what it is now. Blooms Taxonomy is a great example now in action. Like, when did it go, wait a minute, I've been doing this, or I get this? Well, I would say I do and I don't. I sometimes go and think about things and just do them. I'm trying to figure out, how do I best state that? So my career experiences have been very diverse, from working for a software company back in San Diego to coming back to Modesto and having a master's degree. And I think just the fact that I would always say that I worked for a software company. Right away, people were like, oh, well, if you're going to do what you want to do here in the Central Valley, you have to live the commuter life. Or super commuting to the bay. Super commuting to the bay. Got it. Or live in the bay. And at that point, I kind of am going a little off topic, but at that point, I realized that if I did that, I would lose that component, which was community. I would lose that and totally just forget about the purpose why I came back. So it took me coming back to the Central Valley and having an opportunity to work at a temporary job. I'm trying to not go into too much my employers. But when did you get to that understanding part and said, wait, all these different things I've been doing, they were for this reason, they mean this getting. This role that I'm currently in as the center director, I think it just pulls everything that I've learned together into this one role. That's a lot. It absolutely is. But I credit all those experiences to feel confident in doing what I'm doing now. From managing a large budget, I had to manage a large budget working in affordable housing, so you can imagine that's insane. Wow. But then bringing that and manage a complete site and their budget, running a market part time, and I had to do that for two years. And that involved facility, staff, a bunch of different things that I think I'm able now to take it into this role and just not question it, just apply it, because I've gained that understanding. And the lessons that just make, I think, the job, I don't want to say a bit easier, because every role has had its challenges, but it's not foreign. You say the word confidence a lot. You mention it quite a bit. How does it impact your own self confidence to consider the possibility that everything you do in your current role at this point in your career is happening without you thinking about it? It's just coming from you. That took a lot of personal development work before coming into this role. There was quite a bit. I mean, I think I had a career full of self doubt. Why? Well, that actually comes from it stems from my dad being an amazing entrepreneur and saying that I'm the oldest, I am expected to take over the family business. And at that point, it wasn't what I wanted to do. But then going into the expectation of you got to go to school, I wasn't the best student. So a lot of in my childhood and even in my teenage years, early years before my professional career, I was always where things were just not good enough. That would come with my dad being a high level producer entrepreneur. And so that expectation was pretty high. And when I had to let him down to say no, you know what? Taking on the family business wasn't in my career path or my career journey. That was where I think a lot of it was like, maybe I'm not good enough to do things that are expected of me. I think that just came from also not being able to see my full potential. But then, I mean, who does? Who really sees that unless they have a person, which I'm grateful for. My mentor. And I didn't know about mentors or being connected to champions or people that impacted my life until later in my adult career. And I really credit my own mentor that came into my life when I moved back here to Modesto. Her name is Judith Lanning, and she's been a very special person to me because she was the one that saw the potential in me before I saw it in myself and became my true champion. She had me apply for director roles even before I was ready. That's what they do. Yeah, she had me apply to all these positions and it was so discouraging because I wasn't ready. I think that also tapped into some self doubt because even though I was applying and I'm thinking, oh gosh, I'm not good enough, really what it was was preparing me for the opportunity or preparing me to be ready when the right opportunities came. I saw eventually what that meant was all those failures became lessons to help me be where I'm at. And at that point, just as of recent, even just being able to say I'm confident to believe in myself, that I'm good enough for this role took some self talk and talking myself out of doubting myself again. Oh, here's another director role that I'm going to get rejected versus. Oh, here's a role that is what I've been working for my entire career, and I was already in a role that I loved previously. But this is the role where I was going to have to kick self doubt to the curb and really let my self confidence drive this opportunity. And then I told myself, if I or not, if when I get this role, I have to lead fully with self confidence. Because again, this work isn't about me. This work is for the community, for our youth, to empower our youth, that if I let my self doubt get in the way and overshadow the work, I would do a disservice to the people that I need to serve through this opportunity. What would our students best be served to know about applying what they learn here with us to make their way through those moments of self doubt? I believe that earlier you learn self awareness and as well as getting to the point that you build self confidence more so than self doubt will help you along in your career. If I would have done the work that I did to really believe in myself and see the potential that others would see in myself. I think I would have saved myself a lot of unintentional work in my career. In overall, just being open to also see how you can impact the work that you're doing or what you want to do, whether it's starting a business or being a part of an organization and providing an impact internally and externally. I encourage the students to really just explore, be curious, and understand other perspectives that can then allow you to open your mind a bit more in learning about yourself and others, on how you can best apply the lessons in life that you learn. I think it all ties together, but I think that's what I would say for the students to really learn how to approach that a lot earlier, I would say sooner rather than later. It's something that I believe that the wisdom that I've learned throughout my professional career I can share with our students and hopefully that helps them on their career path to thrive a lot sooner than it took me to thrive. What does the word leadership mean to you? Leadership is building trust with people, build relationships that are transformational, not transactional, and empowering others to be the best version of themselves. What makes a good leader? A good leader is someone that has integrity, that isn't afraid to be vulnerable, but that helps others, again, become a better version of themselves than what they know and just guiding them to that version of them that they can see potential. Leadership to me is more of building up other leaders and not so much in the traditional sense. It's more of thinking. One of the leaders that I know in the community, well, actually two of them, Marvin Hakobo and Joe Duran, who of course they're incredible community leaders, are always talking about, who are you going to pass the torch to? I think Joe actually ended up mentioning that in one of his recent recognitions. Here at Stanislaw, state Champion of the American Dream. There you go. And he ended up mentioning passing on the torch. So that's always what comes to mind is I'm not always going to be here to do the work, so who can I build up to be that next leader to carry on the work and continue to improve on it? What makes a good community leader a good community leader? I think everything that I mentioned above before that and then also balance. Balance, balance. Life balance. I think that's really important as a leader. I don't think we talk a lot about it as leaders is finding that balance. Again, you have to fill your own cup of wellness before you go out there and pour into others out of an empty cup. So what does it take? Whether it's spending quality time with family, just taking some time to get away and have time to yourself, there's the self care. But that's true. You do have to find self care. Of course. Yeah. It's critical as a leader because you're constantly pouring so much into your community and to others that you really can't burn yourself out because then you no longer enjoy the work. And there's been times that I have found myself as a community leader that I'll burned out. And that's when I realize, okay, I need to step back a little bit, maybe cut back, so that I can be that better version of myself to the people that need the help or to the community. So as much as we're as leaders empowering others to be the better version of themselves, a good community leader does that for themselves as well. To remind ourselves that we do need to take care of ourselves to become that better version for others as we build up a community. Because it's not easy work. No, it's not. I had a colleague of mine who's more brilliant than I could ever hope to be. She told me that we were moving away or that we should rather move away from the idea that there's a work life balance as opposed to the concept of work life harmony to where the community servant becomes the service becomes the community, and there's less kind of a seesaw existence between one and the other. I wonder what your thoughts were on that. There definitely can be harmony. It just depends on the family dynamic because let's say, for example, my husband, he is an introvert. Oh, okay. And so for him, going out to community events takes a lot of work. He must love what you do. Oh, absolutely. We don't understand what we do for work. We do completely different work. I am in the line of work of community, and he is in the line of work of a maintenance technician. Okay. So very different. Sure. So I think it just depends on the family dynamic, because at the end of the day, you still have your partner to go home to and to be able to say, okay, how do we balance the work that I love to do with a peaceful household of having each other to work together as a partnership and understanding. Even though we have different careers, how do we support each other? It's a lot. It can be a lot, but it's not difficult. So I think Harmonizing is really understanding that balance of know they can find joy at the same time of where they can come alongside the work that you do, just not all the time. Right. Who is the leader who impressed Monica the most in her early years and. Why the leader that impressed me the most in my early years? Yeah, it was tough. I didn't have a lot of leaders in my younger life other than, again, my dad. And he fired you. He fired me, absolutely. That was tough because I think I wasn't in a position or in a mental state to even again, it goes back to in my early years, I was a bit rebellious. I wasn't a person that I think was or even knew what a leader was. I really didn't actually come across leaders that were impactful in my life until my adult life, I would say younger years. I just wasn't receptive to even know what a leader could do to impact my life. It's weird because yeah, I don't even remember even having guidance. What I know now, what I wish I would have known then, the importance of having a leader and guidance. Because at the end of the day, you can't do life by yourself. I think at that point in my adult career, or once I realized and became receptive to leadership coming into my life, or just even someone as a mentor to come into my life, was when I realized, wow, you can't do life alone. Who was your hero growing up? My hero growing up, you probably guessed it my dad, my father. Who is it now? Who is it now? Honestly, I think I would say all the people that are actually doing the workout in the community. The people that actually take their own pride, their own challenges or adversities and really making it and turning it into opportunities for others. I don't have one person, but I have a lot that I consider heroes here in the community. And it's just great to see the people that are selfless in doing the work that they do in the community more so than what I feel that I have the energy to. Some just do amazing work that I continuously just look up to. So many to name because I don't want to name one person or two. Otherwise I'm like, oh man, totally forgot to name enlist this person now. There's a lot of people, great heroes in my life now that I would say I look up to in the work that they're doing out in the community. There's again, too many to name. How have you seen Stan State evolve over the years? Stan State has evolved a lot. That's interesting because being able to see myself going straight to university was just not something that I saw myself doing. My educational trajectory was quite different. But I remember early on there was just something where, gosh, Stan State was just there. It was one of those where I didn't even think being a person local would take advantage of an institution like this. No designs on attending yourself in the past. Like I said, when I was young, a four year university wasn't something that I saw being attainable, really as the first generation seeing it attainable, and I didn't have the greatest grades. And so with that, it was something where I think the perspective of Stanislav State was very different. It was something that was just not attainable. When you think of Stan State now, what comes to your mind first. Man, I wish I was a warrior. Stan State is doing a lot of great things. I love the investment that Stan State has done, become the institution that it is today and be able to see students learn in such a beautiful campus. And I wish I would have taken advantage of, probably knew more about the business school. And I think what you guys are doing with the business school and the entrepreneurship and innovation is incredible because there is a lot of opportunity there and just being able to bring more awareness to our youth to access this type of coursework, I think would have helped me along the way. If putting myself in their shoes, I definitely would have enjoyed taking classes here. Could you describe the feeling of speaking to early career professionals and what it means to your feelings about your own career today? Discover what gives you life and what sparks your curiosity to learn and take advantage of the great opportunity to connect with leadership within Stanislaw State to help guide you to be able to enjoy your educational experience but also be intentional about it. That's one thing that I remember myself going through school, getting my degrees and I keep saying to myself now is that I wish I was a little bit more intentional in how I was going to apply what I learned through school and then apply it into my professional career. The earlier that you're able to be more intentional about that I think will benefit you in the long run. When you get to do what you do now professionally, what does it mean to you to be able to reach out and make that connection with the youth that you work with now? What does it mean to you? It means so much so. As I've mentioned a couple of times, when I was young, I didn't have a lot of guidance or was receptive to leadership. And I think that was something that I probably lacked growing up, that in this role, I have now the opportunity to be the leader that I wish I had when I was a kid. And to be able to also build a team to do that and empower them to be the leaders that they needed when they were younger is something that I'm excited about and think we all try to become that person that we all lacked in our lives. Who is Monica Escamilla? Oh, gosh. So Monica Escamilla is person who recently got married about a year ago. Congratulations again. And so getting used to the last name is Camilla. Okay. Different, huh? Different. But that in itself has been a challenge identity wise because I've always been Monica Vergara. The community has known me as Monica Vergara and my dad being Ricardo Vergara and having deep roots in the community, that in itself created some challenges in changing my last name. But no, it's been Monica. Monica escamilla is a. Person that know I'm a friend. I'm humble. I think, at the same time, down to earth. I try to stay centered and just find joy in life. It comes with deep roots of just as a Colombian, just taking life as a fun journey. And that's what I try to do and try to remind myself quite a bit. Opening scene of the movie of your life. What is the set and setting? Somewhere tropical. Somewhere tropical. I think it's is it Venezuela. I would say it would be more so somewhere as a would, I spent my summers quite a bit or enjoyed most of my fun times in Colombia. My dad is actually Barranquilla, is part of the Caribbean coast. So that is where a lot of my fun memories as a kid started, was just being on the beach in Colombia and just enjoying the culture. Or even when I would be as a kid, too, we would go to Miami. So I think a lot of it is just anywhere in the Caribbean is where I find myself. Yeah, I think that's what grounds me anywhere in the Caribbean. And I would say that's where the Caribbean would be. The start of a movie scene or. How did you say first, the opening scene of the movie of your life? There you go. Okay. The opening scene of the movie of my life would be at the beach in the Caribbean. That's pretty much where my family would hang out in the summers, whether it's Columbia or Miami. What was the girl in that opening scene like? Pretty carefree, I would say a person. Man, now you're tapping into this is like a psychology session. Yeah. I'm like, oh, man, that kid. Okay, so I would say that kid in my early years was someone still trying to discover who she was and where she fit in the in between. The in between. What I mean is, again, being a person from a different part of Latin America and really trying to find a space or find representation, finding representation in the community, but also very fun, cheerful, and would say pretty carefree, but thoughtful. I mean, looking to see where she fit, that's an act of intentionality. Yeah, that was well, gosh, it was of curiosity. The curiosity of going back to, you know, what I'm going to actually say, taking advantage of as a light skinned Latina, it was where I wasn't Latina enough, but I didn't know any different. So trying to figure out what that meant and how I fit in, I think I didn't actually start looking at it as a benefit until later in my life to really be able to represent others at the table and to just say, you know what? I am Latina. And I would shock people when I would speak Spanish, because a lot of people don't think that I do when they see me. But I think that in itself allowed me to see it as an opportunity. Who were that girl's earliest allies? My earliest allies, I would say, are people that I have just connected throughout my professional career. A lot of them, which included some of my bosses and other leaders professionally, again would see the potential in me before I even saw it in myself. And some people that I would connect with that are my allies opened so many doors for me even before I thought I was ready. And that's where I had to learn to really see through their lens what they see in me. What would Monica Now say to start a conversation with Monica? Then I would say to myself, you got this and you have a lot of great people behind you, you have a lot of great champions. But the sooner you do the work to learn more about yourself and the sooner that you are curious to continue to learn the things that can help you along the way in your personal and professional journey, you'll be able to love the work that you are going to do. Just the sooner you do it, the easier it'll be. But you got to do the work, make it happen. How did your academic journey, your bachelor's in business management, your MBA, how did those points on your journey alter the course of your life, do you think? The way that they altered the course of my life, I would say, is it gives you a level of credibility out in your professional career, but also it's not just part of what you put after your name, like having Monica Escamilla MBA. It's something that you take pride in, something as a first generation, that it becomes something more than just a degree. It becomes something that your parents as immigrants worked for to come and open the doors to that opportunity. And it's also part of the American Dream that they saw for their child. I can just think about my dad and my mom obviously bringing me here to this country and saying, gosh, we got to live a better life than what we left. And so every time I think about the degree, it's beyond the education component. That is something that I'm grateful for because it's those teachings and learnings that I've been able to apply in my professional career. But it's realizing deeper than that that being able to accomplish things like this with earning a bachelor's and a master's degree is part of our parents American Dream. Who do you see yourself as now that is different from who you saw yourself as then? I see myself as a person that has gone through quite a bit in my younger years to get to where I am at now. But I'm grateful for those obstacles or adversities that I would say that those of us as first generation experience and now I really, truly just enjoy the work that I do and the people that I've been able to connect with and the community that I'm able to impact. It's fulfilling to see that I can just do the work that I love that's aligned with my purpose and telling my younger self that, yes, you do have a purpose and that you're going to enjoy the work that you're going to do. And just to be able to come home and have that peace of mind that there is a lot of great things that you are actually doing in the community that mean so much to others so that they can live a great life here in the Central Valley. Adversity being on the ropes, it's all part of the story. Take me back to the first moment you realized that you might not be able to deal with this challenge, whatever this was. Describe the scene and what you did to overcome it. I would say the challenge that I had was, again, trying to figure out my space as a Latina, being different, maybe having a different background and culture and how I needed to find my place in the business community or even just in community in general. And how can I be that authentic person to not try to be, let's say, adapt to being Mexicana and lose my culture, but still embrace other Latinos in their culture? I think a lot of it was trying to figure out, again, my place in the community and how I can show up and maybe if I didn't find representation, be that representation. Why? Because I needed to be authentic to make sure that I stayed true to myself and my authenticity. What does intentionality mean to you? For me, intentionality means being present, doing the research, and being intentional to align the things in your life with your purpose. When and how did you feel the most creative in your career? I think I felt creative in my career in different times in my life, from allowing myself to be marketing manager to tapping into the creativity of social media, to then in the role that I am in now, creating and opening a completely new learning center for youth that I have the opportunity to build for our community. And that in itself taps into so much creativity. But the creativity really comes from laying out a foundation and then just the creativity. I get inspired by inviting the community to then help continue to spark that creativity. So, like, for example, with this new center, this learning center with digitalness, I love just building out foundational work, whether it's in programs and now, like I said, building out the center that then I just get excited to be inspired to continue the creative work with the community. What role has family played throughout your journey and how did it evolve? Well, my family played a significant role throughout my journey, especially because I was so influenced in entrepreneurship because of my father and business. Again, that played a huge role in the career that I chose to. Also the person that I am. I am the person that I still feel like that free spirited child carefree sometimes. And I have to remind myself after a long day of work and sometimes just trying to find that inner child, of knowing that my dad would put in so much work day in, day out, knowing that it was literally the bread and butter for our family to literally being the life of a party. He was that dude. He was there's times that he still finds himself being the life of a party when he has the energy to. Oh, he is that dude. Yes, he is. Actually, my dad just turned 80 on June 18, but he still remains being that silly, free spirited, always young at heart. So I think the role that they play is, I think at the end of the day going back to who Monica Escamilla is it's a person that is young at heart because that's who I saw my dad being. Even though he worked tirelessly as an entrepreneur, he would come home and joke around and again, being that life of the party that he remained young at heart. So he's 80 and he doesn't look 80. I hope that when I'm 80 I get to look like him because again, that free spirited, young at heart type attitude I think is what has kept him young. Book or film that changed your life? So I have actually two books that have changed my life in two different ways. So the first book I would say is, and I'm going to say it in Spanish because I read it in Spanish, it's called no soy tuija perfecta Mexicana and in English it means I'm not your perfect Mexican daughter. And it's by Erica l Sanchez. That's an incredible book because it's very relatable as a first generation because as an adult allowed me to give my parents grace for the things that they didn't understand in the struggle that I had to go through professionally. So what I mean by that is I remember part of the work that I had to do was really get involved in the community by volunteering through the chamber as an ambassador early on to then just volunteering in the community and getting connected. When my mom would see me do all this volunteer work, her perspective was why aren't you getting paid and why are you wasting your time not realizing that it was part of the work to get me to where I'm at now? Right. But again, everything in the work was always for them was seen as survival instead of seeing things intentional and doing the work and setting yourself up to be ready for opportunities down the road. And public sectors coming from the places that we come from versus public sectors in this country entirely different. Very much so. I think going back to the book, our experience, our journey is very different and they won't understand how we approach things and we won't understand their struggle. But in this book it describes just that. And at the end of the day, it helped me find that ability to give my parents grace even though they didn't believe in me at the time. But then when I got these amazing roles and opportunities, they were so proud not realizing all the work that it took behind the scene and why we need higher education or to get us to where we are in part of the preparation for the work that we have to do to live out our dream in our career. And the other one? Oh yeah, there was another one. So the other one is the big leap by Gay Hendrix. And that book helped me chip away the glass ceiling that I set for myself. And in the book it describes breaking through your upper limit and being able to understand how to do that. And what was holding me back was something that this book helped me realize and allow again to see that potential that others were seeing in me. Song you heard that made you say, that's my life. That's me. The song was or is by Joe Arroyo and it's in Spanish. I won't sing it because yeah, might break the microphones, but it's a good one that just reminds me of my youth and songs like that remind me of just my roots and who I am. So sometimes I will in the morning, just to get me started along with a cup of coffee. Yes. Is blasting Spanish music like this one to just get me pumped up and realize that I can literally just take charge and take on do that and take on the challenges that may come up in life, in my career and know that I can just face them head on. Do you see yourself as a high achieving individual? Do you see yourself in those terms? I really don't see myself as a high achieving individual, but it may come off that way. I think in a sense of the accomplishments or I think people that have seen me do the work that I do. It in the community and a lot of it is behind the scenes. It's weird to say. And I think going back to as a community leader, I think there's that perspective of being a community leader. You have to be high achieving. But I don't really see myself in that way. As long as it's work that I am intentionally doing, I just do the work because I enjoy doing it. It's hard to put a label on it as being high achieving because I do it not necessarily to do it for the recognition. So I relate it as something. Being high achieving is at the end of the day, who is judging it as it being high achieving? It's an interesting question. That question just makes me think, really, at the end of the day, is it to be a high achiever for the recognition or is it just you're just doing the work because it's what gives you life. And at the end of the day, you know that you've done the work that needed to be done to be able to then go to sleep at night and have that peace of mind. What role does basel support play in this part of your journey? It's huge because they are there at the end of the day who you come home to and helps you create that peace when you have to shut everything off. I guess it's huge, especially because they are a large part of that balance that you have to have as a leader. And if they're there to support you, whether they're showing up to every event, or if they support you in the things that need to get done at home, whether it's laundry or that falls behind at home, it's critical. To just have that partner that's there to support you in different areas of your life so that you can continue to do the work that you want. Whether it's an entrepreneur building your business, it takes a lot out of you that if you didn't have that support and it doesn't necessarily have to be Spousal. It could be just finding your tribe that can help you find that balance, I think is critical because they're the ones that, at the end of the day, you could fall back and be even more vulnerable. That your day was tough. To say it in the best way possible without saying that it sucked sometimes. But I don't know. I don't know if I answered that question. I think you did. It's supporting that person there, having that person there. The spousal support is really important. It's critical to have it be part of the journey. Complete this sentence. Recently I've recently I've been in a creative mode. The longer I do what I do. The more I look into empowering our youth to pass on the torch, to continue the great work that's happening in the community, to innovate, create a better community than when I left it. Just get out there and kick self. Doubt to the curb. There are always people who will support. You and believe in you. Life has taught me to be more. Self aware and find the people that will be there to guide you or guide me and not always tell me what I want to hear. My mantra is my mantra is stay young at heart. Winning teaches you that you never gave. Up on yourself, even when it was a tough road. Losing teaches you lessons. Being a board member makes you more. Responsible to make sure the voices that are not at the table are being heard. Being a board vice president makes you even more responsible. The hardest thing about learning to trust your instincts or intuition is not trying. To please everyone and to create peace of mind. And at the end of the day, what is going to help me sleep at night? As you can see, a theme. I love sleep, so whatever is going to help me sleep at night. But that actually was something that even though my dad did a lot of work in the tax business and there's a lot of opportunities to not do the work with integrity. One thing that I remember him saying at the end of the day, he's able to sleep at night. So that's something that I've carried with me in the work that I do. Random association. You know the rules. I'll say a word and if you like, say the first one that comes to mind. Social connection. Opportunities. Innovation. Relevance. Understanding. Bridge the gap. I know those are two words, but they work. Lens. Perspective. Project own it. Project. Positivity ownership. I'll counteract that with leadership. Balance can't do the work without it. Self confidence. Aware. Always. Reinvention. Improvement. Empowerment. Empowerment. I would say empowerment is impactful. Vulnerability, authentic. Gratitude. Every day. Purpose is something that I live by. Alignment. It's intentional. Intentionality. It's what keeps me grounded. Love. It reminds me to love what I do every day. And now we come to what we affectionately know as the eleven on this broadcast. What is your favorite part of starting something new? I'm doing that now. And it's the excitement of the opportunity to bridge the gap and continue to elevate our underserved community. What is your least favorite part of starting something new? Crazy enough. There's nothing that I don't like about starting something new. That's a remarkable answer. I like getting in the weeds and then seeing something grow. It's almost like planting a seed. What interests you most? I've actually enjoyed traveling. I love to travel. What interests you least? It's interesting because I think what interests me least, even though I enjoy reading the two books that I mentioned earlier, I don't like reading. Really? Yeah. I've now switched to audiobooks. So many have. This, after all, is a radio station KCSS on your radio dial. What music, artist, genre or song reminds you most of your early days of your career in your form of entrepreneurship and innovation? One is called. The life is a carnival. I Know it will. By Celia Cruz and Vivir Mi Vida Mark Anthony The reason and these two just seem very free spirited, happy songs is because it's again a reminder to enjoy life while you're living it. Even as you become an entrepreneur or as you evolve in your professional career. Talking to you students, it's important to remind yourself that live your life also be intentional with your purpose. But enjoy the journey. Enjoy the journey as much as you can. As our guests already know, these questions are repurposed from the inspiration of Lipton, who repurposed from the inspiration of Pivet, who shamelessly repurposed from Proust, we hear shamelessly repurpose. Which brings us to this question if heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the pearly gates? You have arrived, and you understood the assignment very academic. Immediately thereafter, what idea or innovation would you like to pitch him? Her? They it with the universe as your. Marketplace, create a place that invites innovation and embraces culture. Monica, thank you so much for coming by. We're so much better for it now. Thank you, Pablo. And I appreciate you calling on me and inviting me for this opportunity. Thanks for listening to this episode of the Entrepreneurship and Innovation studio. This podcast is part of the Warrior Entrepreneurship and Innovation program affectional known as the we. Our series is recorded on the campus of Stanislaus State at the KCSS radio station and produced by Frankie tovar follow and subscribe on your favorite podcasting platform. I'm Dr. Pablo Parades Romero, wishing you the best of everything, always.