Where are you from originally and how long have you lived in Houston?
My family is from Colombia, but I was born and raised here in Missouri City, TX. I played soccer on full scholarship at Rice University and graduated with a BS in Mechanical Engineering. After college I moved around for about 7 years and moved back last year to start my youth soccer business.
Child(ren) and Age(s)?
Sebastian (6)
Catalina (4)
Evelyn (2)
One thing people would be surprised to know about you…
For people who don’t know my background, I think they are surprised to know that I speak Spanish fluently.
Favorite local activities to do in Houston?
With the pandemic we have limited ourselves to outdoor activities, so we love to explore the many beautiful parks, bayou trails and greenspaces. We love visiting the zoo and Houston arboretum with the kids. Additionally, we love that the beach is nearby because my son loves to go fishing.
Are you involved in a business venture, a local organization, a creative endeavor, or in the corporate world? Please share!
I am president of a new youth soccer club called Força Soccer Club. I started my club in June of 2020 post-shutdown of the Pandemic. I felt it was necessary to invest in the community during a time of so much stress and uncertainty. I wanted to provide an outlet for families, especially kids, who were left with limited opportunities to socialize and exercise. But, I didn’t just want a place where kids could pass the time.
My goal is to create a challenging, high-quality soccer program based on individual improvement at a reasonable cost to our families. Our training methodology is led by our technical director, Hector Galan, who brings his knowledge from working with FC Barcelona in Spain and all over the world. We want our kids to learn and get better every day through fun and high-intensity training. However, most importantly we are guided by our values: Respect, Effort, Commitment, Honesty, and Development. Our kids are children first and players second.
How has the Houston community been instrumental in getting you to where you are now?
Houston is a melting pot with people from all over and the international aspect has been great in getting me and Força Soccer Club to where we are today. The people in the Houston community are friendly and hard working and have been wonderful to communicate and interact with. Houston is a huge city and its values bring us all together and propel us toward the same goal to get the most out of our youth soccer training.
What is the best advice for juggling mommyhood and running a business (or volunteering, working, etc)?
I think the critical thing is setting your limits and always communicating. Like all of my Força families, we are working parents and in our own ways, we are all just doing the best we can every day. But there has to be time set apart for everything: family, work, and yourself. Sometimes those limits are tough to keep but you have to be respectful of others in your work/family life and keep the limits as much as possible, or at a minimum have timely and appropriate communication when you are stretched past the limits.
What would you tell the old “You” before you had kids?
Do your best every day and be patient about what is to come. You have to look at each day as putting yourself in the best possible position. You can’t dwell on what you can’t control so focus on what you can. Learn how to differentiate between the two things and make decisions to move forward if a situation is less than ideal. Be compassionate and understanding with others and yourself. Everyone has circumstances in their lives that, sometimes, we can’t even begin to understand.
Funniest shortcut/routine for helping you through parenthood?
Haha well we’ve created a mega bed in one of our rooms with 4 twin mattresses. Sometimes, especially if my husband travels, my 3 kids and I – we just all pile into the mega bed together!