Today we’d like to introduce you to Dr. Elvia Espino.
Dr. Elvia, before we jump into specific questions, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
Never in a million years did I think I would one day grow up to be part of the 1% population!? To put it into perspective only 1% of the population has a doctorate degree. Nothing short of a miracle especially when you grow up to be stigmatized by your school system to believe you are “At Risk!” To them I was at risk because I grew up to a single mother with little to no education, who made below a livable wage in a neighborhood, not that was underserved so much but rather one that saw me (and kids like me) as invisible. During that time, there were little to no minorities in Pasadena, Texas, so I definitely was seen as an outsider.
It seems that I have been on an educational journey my entire life, and maybe I have been. There are three life-altering memories from school that shook my educational pursuits. As one could imagine outings of any sort are expensive, so eating out and seeing a world outside my street was not possible for my mom to give us. Grateful for a second-grade field trip where I was taken to the Sound of Music. It was there, I learned there was a world outside of my neighborhood. Secondly, in middle school every Tuesday, I was taken on a field trip to the juvenile detention center in Harris County. I did not understand why back then but I do now. I guess it was their way of scaring me straight. I was not a bad kid, even though I was an angry kid. I was always ready for a fight (of some sort). Lastly, in my ninth grade biology class I was kicked out for speaking Spanish and told by my teacher Mr. Rutker that “In America, we speak English!” He’s the only teacher’s name I can remember from my formative school years.
The truth is educating and feeding our minds is an incredible feat. Sadly, I did not have any influential teachers in my life to encourage me to go to college. In my small mind, kids like me did not go to college. I mistakenly assumed that hard work plus a dream equaled success.
While other kids at my high school were busy filling out college applications, I was figuring out ways I could have what people I admired on TV, had without going to college. I was wrong. At the age of 22, I enrolled in junior college and never looked back and held on to the goal of acquiring a terminal degree. Not only for me but for every little kid who had ever been dismissed.
I was born to working-class parents from humble beginnings. My mother from a small Texas town, called Mercedes, and my father was born in Ebano, San Luis Potosi, Mexico. My parents divorced when I was three. I am the middle child of five girls, and I had to grow up at an early age. I saw things most adults will probably never encounter in their lifetime. Although I had a loving relationship with my father, the reality is that I was a young girl growing up in the 90’s to a single mother, with no formal education and no skill set to provide for her children. My mom did odd jobs to make ends meet and sometimes that meant I would accompany my mom to clean office buildings even as a child. I did not mind going to work with my mother because it allowed me the unique opportunity to spend time with her, something that was rare. I did not have any role models growing up, but rather many family members I desperately wanted to be unlike. I held on to the iconic words that I had read about as a child from Dr. Martin Luther King, “I Have a Dream!” In my mind, I did too! It was not going to be enough for me to have a dream, but I also wanted to live my dream. A dream of seeing beyond my neighborhood, beyond the limitations set on me by a school system. I would be different!
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
There is nothing about my journey that has been smooth. To put it into perspective, as a first-generation college graduate you have no one to guide you. In my case, I was the first person in my family to go to college. I like to describe it as if, someone drops you off right in the heart of Times Square in New York City. You do not know anyone, you do not know how the subways work, and definitely do not know how to navigate the streets. I did not have anyone I had seen near me accomplish anything that remotely embodied success. I had to basically figure it all out, alone. While I greatly respected and admired the hard work of my parents, I wanted more than living paycheck to paycheck.
I worked full time during college always putting work first, and school secondary. In my earlier junior college years, I had to take a few remedial math courses that greatly delayed the process for me. So much so, that two semesters back to back I was withdrawn from all of college coursework because of poor attendance. In essence, I had lost one full year of college work. This was traumatic in terms of finishing college, “on time.” For me it did not make sense to attend college classes I could not comprehend, so I did not go to my math classes and as a result was kicked out of college completely. I cried I struggled, I pleaded with teachers, counselors, and basically anyone that would listen. I was always a non-traditional college student because I was not the same age as my classmates, worked full-time, was married, and of course, did not live on campus. Something else, I did not have in common with my classmates was the fact, I was solely responsible for my tuition. Worrying about money for school while trying to succeed at something you do not know how to do, is nearly impossible.
Many life-altering moments occurred during my pursuit of graduate school. I became a mother, two years later then a single mother. Then the sole caregiver to my special needs son because my son’s father makes a critical mistake that costs him his freedom and changes the course of our lives forever.
All of this happening in the background as I kept my eye on the prize and pleaded with God to take my dream away if it was not for me. He never wavered and either did I. I always found a way to smile through the misery.
We’d love to hear more about your organization.
For the last fifteen years, I have specialized in PR/Media Relations. My first job in TV was with Univision KXLN-Houston. At an early age, I already knew the field of communications would be the platform I could use to help the most people. As a storyteller, I was naturally drawn to the world of communications. There was a minor second in my communications class that I briefly entertained the idea of law school. That was very short-lived.
I have been instrumental in gaining local, regional, national and international media coverage for my client’s cause-driven campaigns. To that end, I have had the greatest privilege of my life to work with incredible people. Many which include, political figures, NFL athletes, entertainers, entrepreneurs, high net worth people, business leaders, and of course there are my favorite- everyday people. No matter what assignment or project I have been tasked with I have never lost sight of who I am. Through many years of combined private and corporate experience, I knew my challenges as a special needs mother were not only “unique to me.” This is why I decided to merge the two areas of my greatest strengths together. Furthermore, this is my area of expertise when it comes to my scholarly research. I did my dissertation on corporate and social responsibility with an emphasis on inclusion.
My dissertation is titled, Raising Autism: An Evaluation Study of Respite Care for Medically Fragile Children Living With Autism and Other Illnesses. Today, I work tirelessly designing inclusion opportunities for our special needs community and any other segment of the population that goes unserved. Many of these programs have set the standard of what is a promising practice model for others to follow. Proudly, these programs have been used globally to further create an all abilities support system for special needs families at major corporations, like i-Fly Indoor Skydiving, just to name one. What sets me apart from others, is that I am a disruptive thinker. I don’t wait for the latest trend when it comes to mainstream media or special needs resources. If I see a need, I fill the gap. I become that bridge leader and I make it happen.
So much so, I am often invited to be the keynote speaker at organizations, luncheons, career days, and share my story of perserverence. One of my favorite places to share my experiences with is to incararated women. There’s nothing like looking another mother in the eye and telling her you see her and understand her. I love empowering others to reign, which is my organizational motto. Giving people the tools they need to make educated decisions about their lives is powerful.
This was the case when I was the first Latina ever in the city of Irving to run for Mayor. I was not on a mission to make history rather, I was trying to wake up a community that had given up. As a researcher, I knew all too well statistically speaking what it meant for an over 60% majority-minority community not to have equitable representation on our school board or city council. So I did the only thing I knew to do, be the change I wished to see. While I did not win the election, I won in so many other ways- too many to list. Irving woke up! I am most proud of the moments my son sits in the front row of my speaking engagements. My accomplishments were never for me, they were always for that kid who had been told no. I am living proof those people were wrong!
What were you like growing up?
I was a firecracker then as much as I am today. Honestly, I was a lot more carefree back then, no doubt. Today, we are always on and under a microscope, so as much as I am “ME,” I am very aware that I have people that depend on me and I’ve toned down my firecracker mentality from 2.0 to .5. My mom would say I was that kid that never stopped talking. I suppose that was quite fitting for the child who would eventually grow up to dedicate her life to a world where public awareness and public speaking are synonymous. I was disruptive then as I am today. I was that inquisitive child that always questioned the system.
Admittedly my teachers often times did not understand me and instead more so than not saw me as being a problematic student for always questioning the rationale behind a school rule or a law we were learning about. I became fascinated around the sixth grade with being a world problem solver when I learned about the injustices of the Civil Rights Movement. I often felt like I was born a generation too late because I wanted so badly to end inequities of the 60’s and 70’s, but yet they are still alive and well today. I was never a reader as a child and as many books as I have had to read along the course of my long academic career, I did not read my first book from start to finish until I was a freshman in college. In essence, I always read because it was required. Today, I can not stop learning.
Contact Info:
- Website: drelviaespino.com
- Email: elvia@drelviaespino.com
- Instagram:
alexthegreat1journey - Facebook: https://www.
facebook.com/drelviaespino
Image Credit:
Dr. Elvia Espino
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