From Small-Town Central Mexico to World Traveler; Breaking Barriers With Each Step: Martha Reyes

“I took the road less travelled by, and that has made all the difference” – Robert Frost

Growing up in a small town in Central Mexico, girls were encouraged to study Literature, Arts or Marketing. Having said that, in my mind, I was never confined by these social conventions and associated expectations. Determined to study science, I pursued Engineering for my undergraduate studies. I found myself in a class with 20 men and just 5 girls. Rather than feeling intimidated, I recognized opportunity in the gender imbalanced. This perspective further invigorated my desire to give a best effort and achieve a successful graduation.

For me the next step was to adopt an entrepreneurial mindset. This led to me packing my bags and leaving for Amsterdam for 6 weeks. After studying Entrepreneurship there, I fell in love with the idea of traveling overseas – exploring new places, getting to know people and gathering practical knowledge from diverse sources. In retrospect, travel, exchanges, and dialogue with people from diverse backgrounds is what truly changed the course of my life. It provided me a broader general outlook on life, while also offering a deeper insight towards what I could potentially do for myself and society at large. For my next country stop, I decided to go to Slovenia, where I pursued additional coursework in Digital Marketing and Finance.

In August 2019, I started my journey working with Ya Quedo and it proved to be a fortuitous blessing. My decision to join this dynamic team was predicated on a meeting with our co-founder Pablo Ruz Salmones. My conversation with him helped me realize how special of an opportunity this may be. Pablo’s belief in empowering young minds was refreshing and his vision for building a dynamic global team at Ya Quedo energized me.

I chose ‘the road, less travelled’ many times in my life. I almost never did what I was supposed to be doing according to established tradition. I believe that when we believe in ourselves and just take a leap of faith, we grow exponentially and become something we never thought possible. Generations of women live their lives, toeing the line. But it is only when you overstep those invisible boundaries that you empower yourself to new opportunities and avenues of learning.