Hometown: Albuquerque, New Mexico
College: Azusa Pacific, California
Work history: From a young age I volunteered in the nursery at church and continued to foster my ability to work with kids as I grew older. I then went on to intern at UrbanPromise which was primarily my training ground for the work I do now.
Began at UrbanPromise: I started UrbanPromise as a Summer Intern in 2008 alongside a group of students from my college in an outreach team. I stayed on for the next year as an intern and become a director the following year. I have been ever since!
Why UrbanPromise: It was the first place I was able to call home outside of home. I felt excepted, loved and more than anything a part of something great. I come from a big family and always enjoyed being around people. At UrbanPromise it is that way and it is a place where I can laugh and joke with people, but at they same time they will be there to encourage you and pick you up when you fall.
Favorite part of working at UrbanPromise: It would have to be the special trips we take with the kids. It is so much fun to get the kids out of their comfort zone. My favorite thing to do is taking them into environments they are not use to like the forest, or the county and even fishing. The kids are so funny when you get them experiencing new things, even seeing new bugs they are not used to. They start complaining, screaming and freaking out like at every little spider see - I guess they think it might eat them or something! It is awesome though because of the transformation that happens during the trips as usually, by the end of the trip, they are happy and really enjoying being outside and in a new, very different, environment.
Random fact: I have had to eat 3 earth worms, 2 crickets and a lot ofnasty canned fish, covered in hot sauce while working at UrbanPromise. Only for the kids, right!
