LATIN TIMES MAGAZINE - 2019 Summer Edition | Page 18

Latina Lideres Awards in community Odette Figueruelo 2019 Latina Mover N Shaker by: Jolie Gonzalez-Padilla I am a mother, a wife, a daughter, a sister, an aunt, a nice, a cousin, a friend. I love every aspect of all those meaningful relationships in my life. I am grateful to God and his presence in my life. LTM: Tell us about where you were born and raised and where your family is from Odette Figueruelo: I was born in Havana Cuba. I was raised in Spain. My brother, my mother and I became Spaniard citizens through my father to be able to leave Cuba. We lived in Spain five years and then when I was 15, we moved to the U.S. LTM: Tell us about the biggest highlights of your career Odette Figueruelo: More so than an award received or a pro- motion, as an educator, a highlight for me is when my former students return to visit and they share how they have complet- ed their education and they are professionals giving back to the community. Another highlight is when I have a student who is struggling and later you see their transformation. They over- came an obstacle and they reached their goals. It is so reward- ing!! Also, with my community work I can help raise funds for scholarships to change the lives of many students. I love what I do every day. It is a huge responsibility to know that we can impact the lives of young people. We can inspire them! LTM: As a Latina leader in community, business or other… what has been your biggest challenge and how have you been able to overcome it Odette Figueruelo: I think that one of the biggest challenges sometimes becomes a great opportunity. There is a lack of Latin women representation in positions of leadership. For example, sometimes culturally speaking there is this hidden cultural pre- sumption that Latinas are not supposed to be leaders. Person- ally, in my family I was encouraged to go to school, to graduate from college. Sometimes, a big challenge I encounter is to be able to inspire young Latina women that do not see themselves as leaders. When you spend time helping others, and they see you as an example, it is amazing to see that you are able to brake those cultural barriers and then see these women changing their path. I feel we need more representation of Latina women in leaderships’ roles, this really inspires me to work harder. It motivates me and to help our youth to believe in themselves and to reach higher! LTM: How important is being a Latina to you Odette Figueruelo: Being Latina is part of my identity; it is part of my soul. I always say, that I am a proud Cuban by birth, proud Spaniard by blood and proud American by choice. I am very grateful of the United States, but I love my Latin roots and how much I enjoy life due to those roots. I love everything about my culture, the language, the food, the literature, the mu- sic, the list it is infinite. I love to honor my heritage, my family, by being a Latina Leader in my community. It is a priority to me to make sure my son values his Latin Heritage. He was a great motivation for me to get involved in my community work at Tampa Hispanic Heritage Inc. LTM: What is your favorite type of música and what is your favorite song? Odette Figueruelo: I really love all types of music, from Latin, to classical to rock. I have many favorite songs! LTM: Tell us about what kind of projects you currently have going on Odette Figueruelo: Right now, at Hillsborough Community College, I am working with three other Latinos to form a coun- cil on Hispanics issues within the college. We would like to be a voice for them and be able to communicate with the college president. We would like to present possible solutions at the state level. We are currently writing out bylaws, mission and vision. Hillsborough Community College has a Hispanic pop- ulation of 33%. As past president and current Vice President of Tampa Hispan- ic Heritage Inc. I proudly work with the rest of the board on our journey to help our community preserve and celebrate our culture. We also work countless hours raising funds for schol- arships for our Hispanic students in our community. R ead more at : www.LatinTimesMedia.com