In my early years of high school, I was a teen runaway and at-risk youth, balancing multiple jobs, homes, and the juvenile justice system along with my classes. During my high school junior year, I received intense mentoring and tutoring that influenced my desire to go to college. I was selected for an internship at a Fortune 500 company, where I was surrounded (for the first time) by white-collar professionals with college degrees. I desperately wanted that type of financial stability and career, and I decided to apply to college as a first-gen student to achieve it.

  The estimated cost of tuition and living shocked me when I finally received my college acceptance letter. It was $80k for four years! I graduated from my Title I high school as a registered homeless student with 10 different scholarships, which covered full tuition and cost of living at the University of Texas at Austin. In college, I struggled to adapt to the rigorous coursework as a first-gen and low-income student. Gradually, I learned how to study, ask for help, and apply for more scholarships and resume-building opportunities.  I worked 30+ hour weeks as a tutor for wealthy families and policy director in school finance at a government relations firm, all while maintaining full-time student status.

  In summer 2019, I graduated and moved to Washington, D.C., to work in the U.S. House Financial Services Committee as a Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute Fellow. I worked for an investment bank and a top 10 U.S. Bank in risk management after leaving Congress. Along the way, I founded  Rica Consulting to address the intersections of financial literacy, career navigation, and academia with other diverse and first-gen students and professionals.