|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
Valentina Rivera, a Colombian who immigrated to the US at age twelve, is an integrated marketing coordinator for a fintech trading platform in Jersey City. In her role, she drives branding, strategy, and partnerships, collaborating across teams to deliver impactful campaigns and sponsorships—including a multimillion-dollar partnership with the New York Mets. Beyond her 9 to 5, Rivera hosts and produces DOCE for Immigrants by Immigrants, a bilingual podcast that uplifts and humanizes Latino immigration stories.
What is your greatest career accomplishment to date?
My greatest career accomplishment to date has been excelling in a field that is completely different from what I studied. I majored in civil engineering and initially had aspirations of owning my own firm. However, after just a few months of working, I realized that wasn’t the lifestyle I wanted. I felt lost and, at times, like a failure for “choosing the wrong career.” Marketing, however, has turned out to be a much better fit for my life now. From the work I do to the many different people I interact with, the places I get to go, and the various skills I’ve acquired, I’ve been able to bring together the sometimes random and multifaceted skills that people like me accumulate and use them to my advantage.
Most recently, I was able to leverage my position in corporate America, as the only Latina in my company, to bring one of my podcast guests to a company-sponsored event. Being that person who brings a different perspective and opens the door for new viewpoints, cultures, and even new audiences is something I’m incredibly proud of and it is a full-circle moment for me.
As for the podcast, interacting with people I truly admire has been surreal and a true privilege. This podcast, which I started in my room, has given me the opportunity to speak at length with individuals like Carla Gutierrez, the Emmy-winning director of FRIDA the documentary; Angelo Colina, a NYC-based, incredibly talented Venezuelan comedian who is now touring the world; and Viviana Velazquez, a finance content creator empowering first-generation Latinos to take control of their money and providing free education on a topic that is often not taught to us. Viviana and I have become close friends. None of these conversations and connections would’ve been possible without DOCE.
What is your greatest personal accomplishment to date?
My greatest personal accomplishment has been accepting my immigration story and fully embracing my complex identity. Moving to the US as a teenager sparked a constant struggle with belonging and left me searching for what “home” really means. My internal battle came from not feeling “American enough” because of where I was from, my accent, my cultural traditions, my preferences, and the simple fact that I didn’t fit in. When I would go back home, I didn’t feel Colombian enough either because of where I grew up, my education, my knowledge of pop culture, slang, and even the fact that I was thinking in English. It was a struggle I dealt with for years, and I was deeply affected by other people’s opinions. Compliments about being Colombian would mean the world to me, but a criticism about being “Gringa” would bruise my self-esteem and leave me questioning my identity for days.
Over time, I’ve learned to own my story and accept it for what it is. I’ve embraced my accent and now see the unique narrative it carries. I’ve learned to let go of the life I thought I should have had and the experiences I didn’t get to live. I’ve also come to realize that there will always be people who try to “other” you, often due to their own unresolved issues with self-identity. How I choose to identify and present myself is my decision, because only I know the full context of my experiences and everything I’ve had to go through to get to where I am. I’ve been lucky enough to live between two vastly different cultures, and now, in the words of Hannah Montana, I get to enjoy “the best of both worlds.”
What do you do today to impact your community?
I believe my greatest impact on my community comes from simply existing in spaces where Latinos are often overlooked or unseen. Every year, I volunteer at NJ HOBY, a leadership seminar for high school sophomores. I attended this very seminar myself and fell in love with the idea that young people are the leaders of today. Since then, I’ve returned year after year. Most recently, they hosted a volunteer fair where volunteers had the chance to share what they do outside of HOBY, and I used the opportunity to share my story and talk about my podcast. The response was overwhelmingly curious, with a lot of interesting questions. But my favorite part was speaking with a young man who was the first in his family to go to college, bonding with a young woman over our shared Colombian roots and the summers we both spent there, and listening to a young girl open up about the guilt she felt for living a privileged life, knowing the sacrifices her parents made for her better future.
Opening up about my immigrant experience in public spaces, sharing my heritage, and creating those connections is crucial. It shows others that it’s okay to be proud of where you come from and to embrace your uniqueness—it’s a chance for connection, not division. Empowering young people to own their stories is something I’m passionate about.
Through my podcast’s social media page, I work to educate my audience about the current immigration crisis in the US. I try to balance education with a message of hope and unity within my community, especially in such a challenging climate. One of my goals is to provide more immediate resources in the near future as part of the larger mission. I also donate to organizations that advocate for immigrant rights or provide resources to immigrant communities. Most recently DOCE became a sponsor of the Teenager Perspective Contest, a writing contest for high school students to reflect on their personal immigration stories. I also donate to organizations like KIND, which provides support to unaccompanied immigrant children facing court proceedings alone.
Where do you see yourself in five years?
In the next five years, I would love to have at least one guest from every country in Latin America on the podcast. I also see the podcast expanding its focus to include first-generation Latinos in a “First Gen Fridays” series. I want to create a dedicated “Abuelitas Series” because they always have the best stories, and I’d love to have a segment where listeners write in and share their best stories on a specific topic.
The podcast is just the first step in a larger plan to showcase the nuance of Latinos in the US. I envision developing a documentary that highlights different perspectives of Latinos, comparing the experience of growing up Latino in Latin America versus the US, and exploring how both experiences are similar and different. Alongside this, I’d like to launch a “Recordando Nuestra Lengua” initiative, inspired by the heritage trips offered by Mexico, Brazil, and Canada. This would invite Latinos in the US who don’t speak Spanish, or want to improve their language skills, to travel to Latin America and learn Spanish. My goal is to remove the “shame” often associated with not speaking Spanish, help people reconnect with their roots, and broaden their worldview through immersion.
Finally, I would love to create DOCE Podcast chapters across university campuses, where Latinos and Latino immigrants can come together in a safe, authentic, and fun space to meet, share experiences, and grow together.
What is the biggest issue that you want to help solve, and why?
The biggest issue I want to address is helping immigrants from Latin America leverage their degrees and professional experience in the US. I’ve met countless professionals: accountants, executives, lawyers, doctors, professors, and more, who due to lack of resources or knowledge to transfer their qualifications, often end up starting all over or in low-paying jobs they’re vastly overqualified for. This is not only a missed opportunity but also takes a serious emotional toll on individuals and their families.
This issue is part of a broader effort to shift the narrative around immigrants: that we come to the US and settle for any job. I want to help create a smoother transition for immigrants, empowering them to enter the fields they’re passionate about and excel. By doing this, we don’t just elevate individuals, we strengthen the Latino community and further contribute to the immense economic power Latinos already hold in the US.
What is a moment when you realized the impact of your work?
There have been two distinct moments that really remind me of the impact of my work. The first was when I saw my 2024 Spotify Wrapped for the first time and noticed that someone in Australia had listened to the podcast. At that point, the podcast had been heard in over ten countries, and it was surreal to me that the immigration stories of Latinos in the US had already traveled that far. (The podcast has now been listened to in twenty-plus countries.)
The second moment came earlier this year when a Salvadoran college student in Canada reached out to me via email. He shared how his family had to flee El Salvador due to persecution by an armed group, how he was alone in Canada starting his life as an international student, and how he had been wanting to connect with the Latino community. He found the podcast and said it was incredibly inspiring. For me, that moment was so powerful because all the data and statistics turned into a real person facing many of the same struggles I faced when I first moved here. That’s what it’s all about, helping people feel less alone in their struggles and uplifting them by showing they’re not alone.
What advice would 10-year-old you be shocked to hear you followed?
She would be shocked to learn that we speak English and live in the USA. The ten-year-old version of me could have never imagined the life I have now because migrating to the USA was very unexpected. I think she would be proud of the woman she has become.
What’s a cultural tradition that always brings you joy?
The Christmas time Novenas. It is nine days of prayer, meant to prepare for Jesus’s birth and Christmas, but more than a religious ritual it is a cultural tradition that brings the family together. No matter what project, what meeting, at nighttime everyone finds time to come together, sing and enjoy delicious Colombian meriendas. As I become older and busier, I have learned to cherish this tradition and any tradition that brings the family together.
What song do you listen to that motivates you?
“Milagro” by Karol G.
—-
Connect with Valentina Rivera on LinkedIn. Keep up with DOCE on Instagram, Spotify, YouTube, and TikTok.
