Today’s guest is the resilient photographer Andrea De La Cruz. Her childhood was marked by frequent relocations between Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic. Summers were spent with her dad in Puerto Rico, but the majority of her time was with her grandparents. A pivotal moment came when her grandmother decided to move her to New York to live with her aunt. Andrea’s journey continued as her dad later moved her back to Puerto Rico. Where she completed her last two years of high school. At the age of 18, she made the bold decision to return to New York for college. A decision that was not without its challenges.
How Did The Back and Forth Affect Photographer Andrea?
There was a lot of moving going on for Andrea when she was younger. When children don’t have stability, it can affect them in more ways than none. So I asked her how she felt that the back and forth affected her. She said she felt that it gave her strength. Although she didn’t have any say in all the moving. When she left NYC to go to Puerto Rico – she said that was bad for her.
After getting into an argument with her father, she got the courage to speak up and called her grandparents in the Dominican Republic. She was able to go after graduation for a few months, and then she decided to go to New York and then finally stayed there.
Education Was Her Way Out
Andrea was determined to learn English, so after moving back to New York, she decided to enroll in school. However, since she didn’t graduate from high school in the States, she was considered an out-of-state student and didn’t qualify for financial aid, so now she had to figure out how to pay for college.
She took a job at Burger King and worked there for a year until she became a resident of NYC. Then, her youth pastor wrote a letter confirming that she was emancipated so she could qualify for financial aid alone without needing her parent’s income. And finally, she was able to start college, and she first got an associate’s degree in hospitality management, then got her bachelor’s degree, and eventually her master’s degree.
She said, “I think because of everything that happened to me with the back-and-forth and being here, being there, and being on my own, education was the only way out for me. That’s how I saw it.”
How Andrea Became a Photographer
Andrea’s mom was a photographer, actually, and she gave her her first camera. Andrea remembers her mom working at a photo development company, and she would take her. She learned how to use the machine to develop pictures. And Andrea remembers her mom taking wedding photos and how fun it was, so she’s always loved taking pictures. Andrea said, “If you didn’t like pictures, you would run away from me because I’m always taking pictures.”
So one day, she was talking to a coworker when she lived in Miami, and her coworker was telling her about her preparations for her baby shower. Andrea asked her if she was going to have a photographer, and her coworker said no. She offered to take pictures for her. Once her coworker saw her work, she told Andrea that she should start a photography business. They started one together, but once her coworker got busy with her kids, she had to drop the business, so Andrea went solo. And the rest is history.
Listen Now
With Love, Heidy
Check out my SEO Guide and Free Podcasting Resources at my Stan Store
Other Posts You May Enjoy:
