ROUND ROCK, Texas — For Blanca Nereida Valencia, embracing her identity has been key to her success in life.
"I’m from Brownsville, Texas. Proud border girl, daughter of immigrants. Both of my parents are Mexicanos,” Valencia said.
Valencia knows the importance of the phrase, “You have to meet people where they are.” She understands it's part of being a good leader – but her path to leadership was tested at a young age.
“When I started elementary, they butchered my name a lot, both in spelling as well as in pronunciation. And so, my mom was like, 'Just call her Blanca.' Which is actually my first name, but my family calls me 'Nere' for Nereida,” she said. “There were definitely a lot of things that I didn't identify at the time as things that were acculturation or adjusting for other people.”
Those adjustments continued well into college.
“It reminded me that I’m not surrounded by people who are like me, that understand where I come from or the struggles we go through,” Valencia said.
But stepping outside of her Brownsville bubble came with challenges and revelations.
“I think that was a really important period in my life, where then I realized how important it was for me to be proud of who I was," she said.
The more she realized her Mexican-American culture made her different to some, the more she embraced it.
“I found a sense of rootedness in my identity. And as I was preparing to become a teacher, I really just wanted to help other people do that, to be proud of who they were, no matter where they came from, no matter what language they spoke,” Valencia said.
She figured that if she could help young people have that same revelation, at an early age, she could set them up to be successful. So she started working in the classroom, teaching high school in Manor.
“It’s great if we can help a student graduate and even get to college, but that's not usually enough to provide a sense of thriving for a student," she said.
In 2020, Blanca and a friend launched Contigo Wellness, a nonprofit that provides minorities free access to therapy. The group goes out into the community, visiting places like local gyms and neighborhood events, to connect thousands of people with therapists.
For Valencia, the quest to help her community and give back is never-ending.
“My hope, especially coming from a place like Brownsville, is that people who come from small towns, who notice things that need to be different in society, can absolutely make an impact," she said.
