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a first generation graduate from the University of Northern Colorado, Colorado

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State University and the Latino Leadership Institute at the University of Denver.

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He currently serves as the Associate Director of Alumni Relations at UNC,

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working to engage alumni from across the country and institutional priorities,

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alumni, career, employment and advancement recruitment efforts, and through alumni social media channels.

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Cris is also co-founder of the Latino Northern Colorado podcast, which highlights issues,

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opportunities and contributions of leaders in the Hispanic Latinx community in the area.

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Cris currently serves on the board of directors of the Colorado Latino Leadership Advisory and Research Organization.

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He is a 2018 honoree of both the 40 under 40 from BizWest northern

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Colorado and the Student Impact Award from the Colorado Coalition for the

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Educational Advancement of Latinos and a 2020 honoree of the Best of Greeley

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in the community activist category from the Greeley Tribune. And in his free time,

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He enjoys building, building community and the company of loved ones and friends and hiking in the Colorado outdoors.

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So thank you for being here and I am going to turn it over to you.

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So thank you so much for having me. Thank you, Maggie, for the invitation.

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I really appreciate it. I am going to share my screen just so everybody can see what I am seeing.

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And then I think I'll just jump right into the presentation of everybody's OK with that.

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So this actually is the photo that I took with my family as I completed my graduate degree from the Colorado State University.

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On the far left is my older sister and me, my dad and my mom, and then my little sister,

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Melanie, my nephew, Victor is in my sister's stomach right there.

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And so we're a pretty close knit family. I'm going to talk a little bit about who we are, but I hope that this is a helpful session for everyone.

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So I wanted to start by talking about my own experience.

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I graduated from, 2000, no in 2008 from the University of Northern Colorado.

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My parents are Felix and Luz Elena, and both of my sisters are married.

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As you can see from the slide, I have ten nieces and nephews which I love with all of my heart.

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I was personally I was born in Fort Collins, but I've had the privilege of living on both sides of the US Mexico border.

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We've lived in Texas, Nebraska, Colorado, Zacatecas and Chihuahua for a little while.

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And so we moved about 13 times by the time I was in sixth grade. And I think that that's why we're so tight knit as a family as well,

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because we moved so many times and like we really were each other's like tether home.

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And my nieces and nephews are named:Cesar, Jacqueline, Rita, Victor, Sophia, Ivan, Alison, Toni, Milo and Charlotte.

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So I have they go from ranges of like nineteen years old to two years old.

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So I get to experience a lot of different fun with different age ranges.

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As Nicole shared, I am a first generation college graduate and because I didn't really know much about many career pathways,

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it was suggested to me that I should be a teacher because I am able to connect and engage with folks.

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And and so I studied social science with the secondary education emphasis and minors in

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Mexican-American studies and what would be now like culturally and linguistically diverse education.

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I had the opportunity to teach actually at my alma mater, which is Greeley West High School: Go Spartans.

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And I also taught at through the Upward Bound program.

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I was able to teach Spanish for some of those students before taking my first role in higher education, which was an admissions counselor here at UNC.

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I recently accepted a Hispanic Heritage Month proclamation on behalf of the Hispanic

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Latinx community here in Evans because of community advocacy and engagement.

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And like it says that I love to hike, take pictures, that kind of stuff.

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But when I graduated from UNC and I was in my first role, one of the biggest things that I experienced was that like I knew I wanted to do more.

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I didn't know how to do that, but I knew that I wanted to go beyond being an admissions counselor.

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And so I started thinking about, like, why do I want to get a graduate degree?

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And in part, I think it's funny. But like, I really wanted to put in there, like I'm a middle child.

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And so, like being a middle child and small family, there's like some real feelings of like needing to be like meet expectations and things like that.

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And on top of that, even though my mom's family's been in the United States for like eight generations, my dad is from Zacatecas.

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And so there's a real immigrant family expectation of, like you, we we came here for you to have a successful life.

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Now it's your opportunity to take on that challenge and be successful. And so, like that can really kind of weigh on you and where you're going.

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And so those were some of the things that I was really thinking about when I was looking for my master's degree.

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And then on top of that, like I really wanted to get my graduate degree because I wanted to do more.

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I was already working in higher education.

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And so when I was looking at my career and my future, one of the things that I really thought about was where do I want to go?

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Do I want to stay in higher ed? I already knew that I didn't want to be a teacher anymore.

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And at the same time, I thought about, like, what challenges I could have really going into a master's degree.

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At the same time,

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I was working as an admissions counselor and eight of my colleagues were getting a master's degree in higher education student affairs.

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And so I wasn't sure if that was the right opportunity for me or if or if I should go in a different direction.

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I see that there's a question in the chat or a comment in the chat. I'll come back to those a little bit later.

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I just want to share a little bit about this experience first.

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And then I really wanted to make since I wasn't sure about these things,

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I remember one specific experience when I was when I was getting ready to look

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at different programs and I had applied to like five or six different programs. A few of them were in higher ed, a few of them were in business.

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One was completely different. And I really thought I was really thinking about this.

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And I remember walking up the stairs, you know,

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that staircase in the university center that goes from where the Munchy Mart is up until like that fireplace lounge...

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I was walking up that staircase. And I remember I ran into Dr. Violeta Garcia, who was receiving her Ph.D. at the time,

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and Dr. Sam Kim, who was receiving his Ph.D. at the time in stats and biology education.

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Uh. And and I remember like talking to them and them really sharing to me,

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like there's an importance in differentiating yourself, there's an importance in finding where you want to go.

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And if you're open to being outside of higher ed,

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like maybe think about what those areas outside of higher ed are going to mean to you and where you want to apply outside of higher ed.

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And and so my goal was really to move forward. But I saw this as an opportunity.

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And I'm just going to look at this chart really quick.

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Oh, it's Nicole, so I decided on a program, actually decided to to go into the Master's in Business at Colorado State University,

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which meant that I had to get additional undergraduate credits because I didn't have those.

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And so I just flew into that while I was working as an admissions counselor so that I

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could get some of it paid for and at the same time pay for some of the rest of it.

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But it was a very white school, like it was even whiter than UNC.

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And that was really hard for me because, like, I had found a community here at UNC through the Cesar Chavez Cultural Center,

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and that community didn't exist for me there. And so it was really, really hard for me to connect because it was also really big.

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I mean, at the time it was like twice as big. Now it's almost three times as big as UNC.

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And so it was hard for me to find a place for myself outside of the College of Business.

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And it just it was a completely different vibe that I didn't expect and I didn't expect to experience.

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And, you know, my family is lower middle class. And so they didn't have a lot of money to like even if it's down the highway.

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Right. Like come and visit me all the time because my mom works nights.

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My dad works during the day and really kind of finding the time to come and visit me was difficult for them.

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They only came actually twice in a year because it was just hard to find the right days or times to come.

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And so I had to build my own community. And it was hard because people from Greeley just kept like, hey, you should come back this weekend.

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You should do this, you should do this. And so finding that community in Fort Collins was something that like I was really challenged with.

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I did my entire program in one year. There was the option of doing 18 credits per semester.

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And because I was really poor and because I was like, I just need to get this done so I can get it done.

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And I have that certificate right. I decided to do it.

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And so it was 18 credits per semester, plus an internship through the Career Services Office.

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And I literally made no money. My internship through the Career Services Office paid for 4K towards like my degree

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program in tuition and then it paid me a stipend of a thousand dollars per month.

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And so I literally made twelve thousand dollars that year. And I remember like that meant that I could visit Greeley once per month.

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I could, I could buy groceries and I could pay rent because my rent was five fifty and I could pay for Wi-Fi.

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That's literally what I had the money for.

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And so like I said, like that challenge in building community here was was really hard for me because I couldn't go back home.

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I couldn't connect with family because I was really like I didn't have any money.

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And so I just kept thinking in the back of my head like, I want a better career.

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If I want to go outside of higher education, like, this is going to help me if I ever want to do that.

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And I kept just thinking about, like this degree. It gave me options.

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This degree gave me options. And so that's kind of what helped push me through that initial that initial experience.

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You know, I had to take those eighteen credit hours per semester,

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and since I wasn't able to visit family, I would actually like call family as often as possible.

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And it was really funny because your family doesn't always recognize or understand,

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especially if you're the first in your family to go through a master's program. Like often my dad was like, you already have a degree.

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Like, why do you want another one? Are you still going to be a teacher? Like he's he's still at times thinks that I'm a teacher.

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And I'm like, well, I kind of teach some stuff, but not like a K-12 teacher.

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And like I had to find those connection points in Fort Collins that made a difference for me.

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And one of those places was actually the Northside Aztlan Center,

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which is a local community center that was started back in the nineties by folks who said,

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like, yo, we don't have the services and recreation needs that we need for the Latino community.

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And so I started like volunteering there a little bit, which is how I met, like Deborah Bueno.

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And then Deborah connected me to another person and connected me to another person.

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And so, like, those connection points weren't specifically on campus, but they made a difference in my life.

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I also really connected with my advisor, I was actually the first Latinx person to graduate from that master's in business program,

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which I was shocked about because I was like, what? Like, but but luckily for me, my advisor was also Latina.

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She identified as Latina. And so she was able to say, like, OK, here's a connection point on campus or or let me connect you.

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And she actually connected me to my my internship program, which I was super happy about.

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And then one thing that I also did on my own was that like finding that connection

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through the cultural centers was important to me because it was important to me at UNC.

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And so when I applied and interviewed and got there, I got the internship at the Career Center.

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They actually gave me the option of doing some of my hours at the cultural center.

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So on Tuesdays I was at what would be like the equivalent of the Garvey or the Black African Diaspora Cultural Center.

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I was at El Centro, which is like the version of the Chavez Center here at USC at CSU on Thursdays.

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I was at the Native American Student Services on Wednesdays. And so I was able to connect with those people and find my community in that way.

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So my advice to you all, because that's really why I'm here to provide some advice, is to really, like, acknowledge the struggle.

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Graduate school can be really hard and it's it's you can struggle even more when your family doesn't understand

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maybe like why you're getting a second degree or they don't understand what your second degree is for.

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And like I remember, I would call my dad and and he would be like, my dad has a very heavy Mexican accent.

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And so one of the things that he's done for us ever since we were kids is like he always says, remember, today is the best day of my life.

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Today is the best day of my life. And so, like, even when you're struggling, like just remembering those words from my dad and saying, like,

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today is the best day of my life, like those were things that I just realized that this is like over here.

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And I don't know why. Just just hearing that from my dad and hearing him say like that,

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that stuff really kind of made that difference because it it it allowed me to

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really think through think through that connection and and really think like,

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OK, I may be struggling. And like, if if I put my head down and I work through it like it's OK.

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And I know that, like, even though he doesn't understand everything that I'm going through, like he's still supporting me.

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And then my mom would always say, just like I've never seen you back down from a challenge.

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So like this is another challenge for you. This is a leap for you.

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Take advantage of that. Right. I also took the opportunity to take some counseling.

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I know that in some circles or in some instances, it can be seen as, like taboo.

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But I I went to the counseling center at CSU and they gave me insight.

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I'm like, hey, here's how you meditate. I started journaling through that experience.

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And then I also started volunteering in other places because it was like, what?

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Where can I do good and feel like I do good?

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And so I went to Poudre Hospital and I was one of the greeters/helpers, and they didn't have anybody else who spoke Spanish.

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And so to be able to support folks who don't speak English in in spaces like the hospital where people feel

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like they might be struggling because their family member is sick or they don't know what's going on,

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was really helpful to me as well. And so that was another place where I built that community.

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And then I also reached out some of my close to some of my closest peers and mentors.

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Stephanie Torres, I've known her since I was like 15 years old and 14 years old.

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And, you know, I know that she is someone who's always been by my side and will always be by my side.

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And so I would reach out to her and be like. I don't know what to do.

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My family doesn't recognize what's going on, right. And so if you can find those mentors, Stephanie was a mentor for my undergraduate degree.

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Scott, then Lou was another mentor from my undergraduate degree.

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These are people who care about you. They care about your success. So, like, if you can find those people from previous experience,

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if it's not the current experience, then I would say reach out to those folks as well.

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I have, like, squeezed the juice on here because I really think that this is an experience that you're not going to have again, maybe.

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And so, like, if you can squeeze every drop from this, like there's an opportunity for you to really, really kind of gain from this.

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And so, like, you are getting a degree in something that you're passionate about, I hope,

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or something or in a degree in something that's going to help you get to that next step in your career.

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And so stay connected to that passion, because that's really going to help you really figure out, like,

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what you're going to do next or keep you in that mindset of like I'm doing this for these reasons when when you do feel like you have that struggle,

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also, like if you can take a trip home or wherever makes you feel comfortable,

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find your community outside of outside of like you and see if you have to.

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Like I said, like I found my community at the north side, the center. There are so many nonprofit organizations.

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There are libraries, there are support places here and here in Greeley that you could,

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like, find a community with if you haven't found your community at UNC yet.

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And I'll say this again and again,

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finding a mentor or a mentor that really makes a difference in your life is is is just so powerful because like I said,

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oftentimes our families don't understand what we're going through.

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And so just the ability to connect with someone who does understand is just that much more valuable for us.

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And I would say spend a little bit of time if you if you have the chance, spend a little time on your LinkedIn profile.

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You know, right now, this is a LinkedIn profile is is like your calling card, right?

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We don't have business cards as much anymore anymore, but we have these online digital business cards and LinkedIn is one of those places.

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So make sure that you're updating it.

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Make sure that you're looking at your resume to make sure that you're looking at your CV and making sure that you're looking at cover letters,

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all of those kinds of things, and make sure that you're sharing that with each other.

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Like you don't have to be competition and you shouldn't be competition.

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Right.

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Like you're going through this experience together, like build that community with fellow graduate students and say, like, hey, I have my resume.

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Will you take a look at it? You really are like future leaders.

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And so this is an opportunity for you to connect with each other.

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One of the things that I really wanted to highlight was recognizing imposter syndrome.

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It took me a really long time to recognize that I could be professional and I could be Latino.

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I could be myself. So often there's this conversation around code switching and how people of color or people of minorities,

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backgrounds or identities have to really kind of switch out who they are, depending on what instances they're in.

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And I have found that, like, I am so much better of a professional when I can just be myself.

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Right. Because I add culture to my institution. I add culture to my organization.

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I add culture to my division and to my office by being myself and sharing my unique strengths, by acknowledging that, like,

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I have a different perspective and by really highlighting the importance of bringing in communities who will just make us stronger.

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Right. I think it's also important to ask for help oftentimes,

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folks and I actually talked to my colleague Norma about this, who she's currently going through a master's program.

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It's hard for us as first gen folks sometimes to ask for help because whether that's like pride or fear or the the opportunity to maybe,

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like, feel dumb. Right.

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But like you as students need to know that we as staff, we as faculty like are here to help, that that's part of our job is to is to help you.

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And so, like, asking for help. Shouldn't it be a struggle?

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It should be a reality. Right. Like it should be normalized, just like mental health and wellness should be normalized.

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Right. Those are things that should be normalized so that we don't feel like that pride or like

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we owe somebody something or anything like that because like we need to do those things.

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I also think take breaks when you feel like you need to take breaks,

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because I know that, like when I would need a break when I was in my master's program,

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I would literally go up to like Horsetooth Rock or I would go to Arthur's Rock and I would

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just climb out there and get like that necessary regeneration so that I would feel comfortable.

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And I talked about this already, but like LinkedIn is super powerful.

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So if you have the opportunity to get an endorsement from your faculty member, from a supervisor in your field, from an expert in your field,

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those are really powerful things that just, again, highlight who you are as a professional and really kind of help you build that brand.

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There's opportunities for you to blog or post about your experiences on LinkedIn,

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which, by the way, if anybody wants to add me on LinkedIn, I'm happy to be added.

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If you want any additional insight. Please go ahead and do that, but also get connected to those people.

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So start following folks who are influencers in your field or or experts in your field,

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because those are the folks that are also like sharing new insight.

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And if you're able to comment, sometimes you build that relationship with someone just by commenting on their posts and saying, like, you know what?

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Thanks so much for this. Insight was great. Or have you thought about this in this way?

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And you might challenge them to think differently as well. And then just the last thing is that I want you to connect with UNC resources.

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I know I did it. I can't I I connected with counseling services, but you've got to do what feels right for you.

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You know, connect with the Center for Career Readiness. There are career counselors there that can support you and your future professional needs.

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I would say reach out to your advisers and professors. I think Maggie is one of the nicest people that I know.

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So reach out to her as often as you possibly can. These are an internal network.

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They are helping you build yourself during your program. I also think, like focus on health and wellness.

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I was super stressed during that time and I was making zero money during that time.

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I actually remember, you know, like going to the food bank once or twice to get like a food box because I just didn't have enough money for groceries.

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And so, like, I lost close to 40 pounds during that time because I was just really struggling.

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And so, like, remember to eat healthy when you can and and buy the foods that are healthy for you.

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Go outdoors, like I said, whether that's recreation or, you know, like I try to play racquetball with some of my colleagues every day.

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That's something that really kind of fills my bucket.

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And then one of the things that I'll suggest as well is that there are cultural and resources on campus,

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the cultural and resource centers that can really be like a grounding place or a centering place for you, even if you just want to go and hang out.

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I remember when I first went to the Chavez Center, I just sat there and then I was like,

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OK, there's like a community here around me that could really be supportive.

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And then like after that, I remember somebody asked me if I was where where to pick up our paychecks.

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And I was like, you get paid to be here. And I ended up turning into a job for me.

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So really kind of finding those grounding places, whether those are cultural and resource centers where that's whether that's your program office,

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those kinds of things, because those can really help you become you and allow you to be you while you're on campus.

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So. That is my presentation. I know that I'm a little bit quick in the way that I speak,

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but it's also like Tuesday night and I know that, like, everybody's kind of struggling right now.

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I know that I was for a little bit. So I'll give you back as much time as you need.

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I'm happy to answer any questions, but I'll stop my share now. Thank you so much and sorry I interrupted with my invitation for questions.