Flor, a Guatemalan-American GCSEN Alumna Getting to WOW in the Midst of Fear and Self-Doubt
Flor started as an intern at GCSEN while finishing her Bachelor's degree. Now she is a GCSEN consultant and owner of a small marketing business, Najera Studios.
Flor was born and raised in Guatemala, the land of eternal spring, but her life changed at the age of 14 when she moved to New York to reunite with both her parents. In Guatemala, she lived in a poor neighborhood where there were "zero to none opportunities" for education and where the drive for success was nothing but a forgotten dream for many. However, Flor lived the miracle of coming to the United States at a young age and having the opportunity to completely dive into a new culture and a new language. An endless thirst for learning made her feel like she could learn anything and everything. She was then reborn and found new avenues of strength despite having been away from her parent’s warmth for 7 years. As a teen living in a sleepless city, Flor wanted to attend college, she wanted to keep learning, she wanted to see the world—a burning desire to have a positive impact in her community was now in full ignition.
After graduating from SUNY New Paltz with a Bachelor’s degree in Public Relations, Flor did not yet feel satisfied so she went for a Master’s degree in Integrated Marketing Communications at Marist College. Driving this journey, she adopted a growth mindset and realized that she had barely scratched the surface of my untapped potential. Marketing showed her yet another completely different digital world. There is so much that she could learn and explore in this field. Flor also now has a new identity as a Hispanic immigrant woman with a Master’s degree– she surpassed her own limiting thresholds and became part of the 5% of Latinos in the U.S. with a Master’s degree.
To Flor, it seemed as if she was always putting herself in challenging situations to become a well-rounded individual. However, she does so because she has an insatiable hunger for Meaningful Success. It is because of her burning desire to find meaning that she has decided to pursue her own path as a Social Entrepreneur during the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. At the beginning of 2020, Flor had a full-time 9-5 job as a marketing assistant where she would stare at a computer all day. In her mind, Flor was the classic American worker unhappy with her job and life. At the office, Flor always felt that there was no teamwork or efficient team communication. Flor never felt comfortable applying her newfound marketing knowledge, something she had worked so hard to gain at college, and never saw myself evolving as a leader which she believed was a prerequisite to becoming an agent of change.
The decision to go forward with her business idea was like a catapult that propelled me to the starting line! I had the privilege of interning at the GCSEN Foundation where she was given the opportunity to take the GCSEN programs, which included Principles of Social Entrepreneurship SE101, Social Venture Formation SE102, and be a part of their GCSEN Minimum Viable Product (MVP) day and the Social Venture Research Institute (SVRI) program. As an immigrant, it was empowering to see a group of people coming together to listen to your story, to allow you to speak and hear what you have to provide, and to be curious about who you are.
Flor believes she got to WOW when she decided to pitch her business, Najera Studios, at the GCSEN Minimum Viable Product (MVP) day this past summer.
"I was hesitant to present my business idea because I thought I was not ready nor did I know fully what I wanted my business to be about. But I knew that my 'imposter syndrome' had to be put to the side this time and I had to be courageous and believe in myself. I spoke to my mentor and friend Mike Caslin, Founder and CEO of GCSEN Foundation, and he changed my perspective completely about how I felt about pitching my business idea. I ended up pitching my Social Venture the next morning. To me, it was a WOW experience because I embraced my desire to make meaning with my life and put aside the fear of not being good enough, make money and move the world to a better place," said Flor.
As Flor embarks on her own new journey of becoming a Social Entrepreneur, she says still faces doubts that hold her back. However, Flor is thankful that she is a part of the GCSEN Community where she is reminded that she belongs there, that she is valued, and that she will always be supported as a lifelong GCSEN alumna! Flor's vision is for young entrepreneurs like herself to learn about how amazing the GCSEN Foundation is; that they can also join her in Social Entrepreneurship ventures so eventually they can also experience their own WOW on their own.
"With a humble heart, I thank you for reading a little bit of my story. I hope I can inspire you to get to WOW yourself!" said Flor.
###
Michael Caslin
GCSEN Foundation
+1 212-444-2071
email us here
