Where are you from? How have your experiences throughout your upbringing influenced your passions and aspirations today?
I was born and raised in Puerto Rico, a small territory of the United States of America located in the Caribbean. My upbringing was characterized by a healthy balance of constant learning and creativity, in which my parents instilled and developed in my siblings and me the values of responsibility, commitment to reaching our goals, and living with integrity and respect for others. Within my upbringing, there was no limit to the variety and diversity of subjects we could talk and read about, from conversations regarding politics, art, films, psychology, history, literature, and languages. As a result, I believe that consciously, I wanted to work in a profession where service was the main goal and where I could be an agent of change as a communicator, attorney and as US Probation Officer. Community service was also encouraged, and as a result, I worked with non-profit organizations in Puerto Rico that serve disadvantaged populations and engaged in causes and initiatives that promoted and discussed migrants’ rights, labor, and environmental issues, among others. As a US Probation Officer, my curiosity and commitment to expanding my professional and academic acumen have led me to educate myself in areas concerning mental health, criminal law, reentry, rehabilitation, and controlled substances among other subject matters.
My aspirations have always been defined by my passion for reading, writing and researching diverse issues, but also teaching others. Without the sharing of knowledge and experience, collaboration cannot be executed. At this precise stage of my professional career, self-educating myself continues to be a goal. However, mentoring and coaching others have become my main objective in the aspiration of promoting change from within and outside my organization. As such, I have engaged in mentoring and training initiatives, which have allowed me to execute this aspiration.
What drives you?
Constant learning while sharing and empowering others to reach their potential are my continuous motivations and drivers as a person and generally, in every endeavor I pursue. In my line of work, what motivates me is helping people who are part of the criminal justice system to reach pro-social goals, ensure a home, secure their rights, and become productive members of society, despite the obstacles they face. As I have grown older, listening and learning from every relationship I make, have made me realize how diverse human experiences are. Teaching and training others have also driven my career, as I have become a mentor to co-workers and persons within the system. One of the reasons, I chose to study and practice law was to help others in fighting for their rights. It seemed idealistic at the time, but my experience within the criminal justice system has made me realize how vocation to serve and social reform are needed more than ever in our current social, economic, and political environment.
What does social justice mean to you?
Despite the ample meaning of said concept, social justice for me means equity in accessing and securing basic constitutional rights, like for example, health care, steady income, and education, by all persons, irrespective of their race, religious, ethnicity, and socio-economic backgrounds. Social justice requires that agencies and organizations responsible for providing access to these rights develop administrative and legal processes that follow due process standards and that address diversity in the provision of these services. Social Justice is a standard of living that we must aspire to in a society that requires open dialogue and communication in everyday social institutions. Social Justice requires an open, respectful conversation about our differences in opinions and positions, in which diversity is encouraged, and solutions are discovered through conversation with respect and integrity.