Navigating Two Cultures, Growing as a Leader

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For most of my life, I have lived between worlds: between languages, between cultures, between who I was expected to be and who I was becoming.

Now, halfway through the UC Davis Part-Time MBA program, I'm starting to understand how living in that in-between has shaped the leader I want to become. To explain, I have to go back long before business school.

Nestled in the heart of California’s Central Valley is the nation’s Christmas tree city, a small, quiet, and humble town named Sanger. I grew up there for most of my life, though I was born in the neighboring city of Fresno. Both places feel like home, each shaping me in different ways.  

My parents immigrated from Tierra Blanca and Romita in Guanajuato, Mexico, driven by the hope and prospects of a brighter future. What they found instead were the heavy obstacles that embody the immigrant experience: language barriers, cultural assimilation and persistent financial instability. Those struggles became mine early on. In grade school, I sat in various ESL classes, staying silent until well after fifth grade; not because I had anything to say, but because I was not comfortable with my English and was ashamed of the very culture that defined me. I wore thrifted clothes and missed plenty of school trips we couldn’t afford, learning early on what it meant to go without.

I am now deeply grateful for those early years. They quietly forged me into the man I am today. In classrooms, doctors’ offices and during everyday errands, I became my parents’ interpreter, the bridge between our two worlds. I learned to navigate adulthood while I was still a child, carrying responsibilities that forced me to mature long before my peers.

Living ni de aquí, ni de allá meant constantly questioning where I belonged and whether I was good enough. But through education, I began to see a way forward. It wasn’t just a "way out" of my circumstances; it was a way to honor the journey that brought me here.

Why the UC Davis MBA?  

Choosing the UC Davis Part-Time MBA program was a decision rooted in alignment. I was drawn to the school’s innovations in health care, networking opportunities and its genuine commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion. While I weighed the practical realities: cost, distance and return on investment; my decision to attend was ultimately driven by something deeper.

Before I started the program, I was invited to attend a GSM Winter Social in San Jose. The first person I met there was a fellow Fresno State graduate who had more recently graduated from UC Davis. They spoke highly of the education, community and staff, citing all three as excellent reasons to attend. 

Meeting a UC Davis alumnus and hearing how the MBA prepared him for the real world reassured me. Seeing a fellow first-generation graduate achieve that dream helped me believe it was possible for me, too.

Growing up as LGBTQ+ and Chicano, I've almost always felt split between two worlds and between versions of myself within them. I come from a family where identity and education were not priorities simply because survival had to be. My father cannot speak English and never had the chance to learn to read or write; his childhood was spent as a provider for his siblings.  

My mother left school in the seventh grade to help hold her family together. I rarely saw my parents until well after sunset, their days filled with long, grueling hours of work that kept our family afloat but left little time for anything else. I carry their stories with me, knowing that my education is a milestone we share.

Though some days the 186 miles between the classroom (Sacramento/Davis) and home (Fresno) feels like a betrayal, I remind myself that I am not alone.  

I have other classmates who share the exact same story. We are vessels for our families’ histories and futures, carrying the weight of breaking cycles while honoring the sacrifices of our parents, grandparents and cultures.

One Year In the UC Davis MBA Program

Halfway through the program, I feel like I've undergone a transformation. I’ve grown as a leader in ways I didn’t expect.  

While the STEM courses pushed me, I attribute most of my growth to Storytelling for Leadership, Coaching for Leaders and High Impact Presentations with Lecturer Doy Charnsupharindr. Each of these courses made me feel like I could bring the fullness of my being into the room and contribute in new, meaningful ways I didn't always feel were possible. Finally, existing in a space where identity, passion and business intersect meant the world to me.

These experiences sent me on an inward journey where I got to explore my potential as a leader. It made me realize that my true power travels with me everywhere I go, in the words I give, the opportunities I create for others and through the recognition of sacrifices and people who came before me that made this entire journey possible.  

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The Moments Between

My career in healthcare began at home, shaped by witnessing my father’s battle with cancer in 2007. We were fortunate he entered remission in the following years but I felt indebted to give back to the community that saved him.

Over the past 12 years, I’ve worked in emergency rooms, trauma centers, in-home care settings, children’s hospitals and other settings, each allowing me to see the human spirit in its rawest forms.

The most meaningful work I have ever done happened in the "moments between": when I chose to advocate for the invisible or walked into a room as the only person who looked like the family being served. I have learned to take up space in rooms where people like me haven’t always been invited, realizing that my presence is often the most powerful tool for change I possess. 

I am at UC Davis to turn that grit and empathy into a way forward, ensuring that as I grow as a leader, I am bringing those voices into the rooms where decisions are being made.

Looking ahead, I am eager to put the leadership skills I have developed at UC Davis into practice by advancing equity in the communities I serve, speaking up for those who are struggling and taking a more active role in community advocacy.

Beyond the MBA Journey  

As I navigate the end of my first year, I’ve realized that while an MBA sharpens our critical thinking and technical skills, it’s the experiences we cultivate with our cohort that truly help us to grow as leaders.  

Juggling eight to 12 units in a part-time MBA program has not always been easy, especially when working a full-time job Monday through Friday, caring for family and still trying to practice self-care.  

But having a collaborative, supportive and responsive cohort has made all the difference. Everyone comes from different backgrounds, industries and life experiences and when we embrace that, and lean on each other when we need to, we get through those tough times together. I feel so grateful to have amazing classmates who continue to inspire me.  

For me, this MBA journey has been a collective and intentional evolution, a process of finding the intersection between identity, leadership, community and soul.  

Being able to connect with prospective students as a student ambassador is incredibly meaningful. Serving as our program’s first director of diversity, equity and inclusion has given me another way to put that sense of belonging into practice.  

The role allows me to create cultural experiences like a Día de los Muertos gathering, invite guest speakers into the program and host cultural show-and-tells that give students opportunities to connect on a deeper level.

By continuing to create spaces where everyone feels they belong, we honor our cohort’s unique stories, perspectives and life experiences, strengthening our connections as we complete the program together.

Today, I no longer see myself as ni de aqui, ni de allá. I am de aqui y de allá, from both rather from neither, and I’ve come to recognize that my Mexican-American culture is not something I leave at the door, but one of the greatest strengths I bring to leadership.