Carla, The First Gen Coach, was born in San Pedro Sula, Honduras, a city close to the coast, where she enjoyed a vibrant childhood surrounded by family. Her parents were entrepreneurs — her mother ran a boutique shop, and her father managed a glass and mirror business. Despite a happy upbringing, safety concerns escalated after a break-in at her mother’s store. Fearing potential threats, Carla’s mother spearheaded the family’s move to the United States, seeking a safer future for her daughters.
Transitioning to Life in the U.S.
At just eight years old, Carla moved with her family to Miami. The transition wasn’t easy. Despite moving into a modest apartment and initially living without a car, Carla observed that life in the U.S. offered comforts and opportunities that were missing back home, such as air conditioning and a stronger education system.
A memorable early cultural shock for Carla happened at a Walgreens in South Beach when she realized language would be a barrier. Even with her basic English skills from Honduras, communicating in a new country proved challenging.
Carla’s mother’s fierce advocacy also left a lasting impression: when school administrators tried to place Carla in third grade again because of her birthday, her mother fought persistently — even speaking to the superintendent — to ensure Carla entered the correct grade level.
Reconnecting with Honduras
Sixteen years after moving, Carla returned to Honduras in 2016, a deeply emotional visit where she reconnected with her grandmother and family. The trip happened right after a tumultuous U.S. election, making the experience even more poignant.
Building a Career and Discovering a Passion
Carla’s path in education wasn’t straightforward. After attending three universities and changing majors, she earned her undergraduate degree in Sociology and Anthropology with minors in Latin American Studies and Brazilian Portuguese. Although raised to seek a stable office job (and initially aiming for speech pathology), Carla realized through her experiences in AmeriCorps and higher education that her true calling was career coaching.
In 2021, after years of helping others with career advice informally, Carla embraced her entrepreneurial spirit and launched her own coaching business. Despite growing up believing entrepreneurship was unstable — based on watching her parents struggle — Carla found success helping first-generation Black and Brown women gain clarity, negotiate salaries, and build the careers they deserved.
Within 10 months, she doubled her own salary by transitioning from higher education to tech, proving that financial empowerment is attainable with the right mindset and strategy.
The First Gen Coach Podcast
Carla also hosts The First Gen Coach Podcast, where she dives deep into topics like career advancement, self-advocacy, financial literacy, and unlearning limiting beliefs. Her show provides not just career advice but life coaching for those building new legacies.
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With Love, Heidy
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