Final modified on October tenth, 2022
By Jessica Garcia
Latinx Heritage Month is a time to rejoice the identities, cultures, and contributions of People whose ancestors got here from Spain, Mexico, the Caribbean, and Central and South America.
In honor of Latinx Heritage Month, meet some members of AppFolio’s Latinx group and listen to how their heritage has formed them and guided their path to AppFolio.
“I used to be born in Caracas, Venezuela, and I moved to the U.S. after I was 13 years previous. Working as a Latinx individual in expertise, I realized to be resilient. Constructing my profession as a software program engineer, I realized to code, downside resolve, and ensure that my code labored by by no means giving up. I believe resiliency is on par with being Latino. We by no means hand over, and we preserve attempting our greatest.”
– Kuai Hinojosa, Principal Safety Engineer
“Having a half-Mexican, quarter Irish, and quarter Lakota Sioux background, I really feel actually proud to be blended race and much more proud to come back from each indigenous and immigrant ancestors. I do know I’m fulfilling the dream my grandparents had for me once they moved to this nation, however as a first-generation faculty scholar, I additionally really feel immense stress to succeed, persevere, and be a job mannequin for youthful generations. Reconciling these two concepts might be very tough at instances, however it helps to share our first-generation tales, lean on one another for assist, and know that we’re not alone.”
– Winter Smith, Product Supervisor, AppFolio Property Supervisor
“As a proud first-generation Colombian American, I needed to learn to navigate all the pieces for myself as soon as I entered the company world—learn how to interview, be skilled, be an advocate for myself, write an e mail, ask for a elevate—you identify it. I struggled with imposter syndrome like so many others, however as I progressed in my profession, I realized to take a step again and admire the place I’m and the place I got here from. I do know that I’ve nowhere else to go however up, and I’m very grateful to AppFolio for serving to me develop my profession and offering me with all of the assist and assets I should be profitable.”
– Heidi Parra, Sr. Staff Coordinator, Funding Administration
“Rising up in Nicaragua, I at all times cherished computer systems and felt keen about expertise, so I adopted in my brother’s and uncle’s footsteps and have become the primary lady in my household to pursue a profession in expertise. I now have my very own daughter, and I see how a lot she watches and learns from me. After I labored as a nanny whereas finding out cybersecurity, my daughter would say that she additionally wished to be a nanny as a result of that’s what mommy did. Now that I’m at AppFolio and she or he sees that I work on computer systems and love my job, she says she needs to work in cybersecurity now, too. I really feel an obligation to indicate her that she could be a lady, she might be Latina, and if she has ardour and expertise, she will attain any purpose and do something she desires.”
– Jessly Altamirano, Safety Analyst