It’s good to be Susie.

Susie: I embrace this time of year as a way to celebrate my culture. As a Hispanic woman, I love my beautiful roots and I’m so proud of my family. My parents are from Mexico, making me a first generation American.

Susie: I absolutely love Mexican food -- but around here it’s nowhere near as good as it is in California. Although I was born in Chicago, we moved to there when I was a baby, and you can’t beat that delicious food. But I love ice cream too, and that’s great everywhere.

Susie: I have had interesting experiences with my share of risks and gambles. As a teenager, I worked for Starbucks. Over twelve years ago, a manager from Verizon came in and ordered his latte and asked me daily if I’d turned 18 yet so he could hire me. Once I hit that milestone, I accepted a position as a customer service rep. It was one of the best decisions I could possibly have made.

Susie: Never. After customer service, I moved into a position in sales and then a special assignment in marketing with the multi-cultural team, and I learned as much as possible. I networked and offered my assistance to many different groups to gain insights and experience. I worked on Latino strategy in what was the West Area then. When my assignment ended, I was to go back to the store. Instead, due to expressing my career goals with one of the marketing leaders, I was invited to a ride-along with the National Indirect account manager and got a job with that team. That experience was unforgettable, as I got to participate in “Rock Star” and I made it to the Top 7. From there, I was set up for my next move to work on front-line positioning. I was so scared, because this required me to leave my family and move to New Jersey.

Susie: It was a risk, and I’m so glad I took it. I gained the experience necessary for my next move to Hispanic segment marketing. Now I lead Hispanic strategy and I love it, even though it was sometimes tough having to fight battles to get to where we are today.

Susie: Our team launched the Spanish My Verizon app. If I didn’t move to NJ, I would have never had these amazing experiences. In order to get what you want out of your career, there are roadblocks and having to hear “no” a lot. That was often tough for me, because my pet peeve is when people tell me “no”, and they don’t explain the “why”. But I made it my goal to fight through the clutter.

Susie: I’m currently a USC graduate student. I’m working hard at school and at work. I aim to have a long career here at Verizon. The master’s program I’m enrolled in focuses on the relationship between consumers and employees. Bottom line: a company cannot succeed if the employees are not happy. We must always strive to provide a positive organic experience.

Susie: Oh yes. Because I grew up with such rich culture, it’s such a part of me and why I’m so passionate about everything I do. It’s also important to me to pay it forward. I’ve participated in “Built by Girls” as an adviser and it’s an incredibly rewarding experience. For fun, I like to do yoga and crossfit, I enjoy watching “New Girl” and “Stranger Things”, and I really love going to the beach and reading a good book.

Susie: Well, my boyfriend Leonardo urged me to go skydiving with him. I’d never done this before and I was terrified about jumping 10,000 feet out of a plane. My boyfriend jumped first, and when I made it down to him, he was on his knee with a diamond ring -- and then I said yes. I don’t remember all the details because I collapsed from the adrenaline and the shock. But I remember the most important parts. We’ve set the date for next October.

Susie: Yes - Don’t give up! There will be times when you feel doors are shutting on you. I often wondered if it was because I was Latina. Was my heritage a disadvantage? So keep your head down and work hard and you’ll see the rewards.