HOW I GO FROM AU PAIR TO BANKING

First Seven Years of Life

I was born in a mid-size town called Cotia - São Paulo (Brazil). I am the second kid of my parents, and I had one older brother.

My father was a drug dealer, and my mother a bus driver. Growing up was very much like a horror movie. Back in those days, I remember watching my father hit my mother and seeing her suffer. I always thought that I wanted something different.

When I was four years old, my parents had my sister. They both went to prison that year. They were found guilty of hiding more than 10 kg of cocaine in our garage. Once a month, I would visit my mother for about one hour every month, and I saw my father once. Both my parents got off a year later.

For a year, my grandmother raised me. She used to live in the suburbs of Cotia. My memories of that time are joyful.

During my first seven years of life, I can see my dad coming home and hugging me, calling me his princess! Despite what he did, I will always love him, and he is the only father I have, do not judge.

One day on a family trip to the beach, someone killed my father. My entire family watched my father die, and we said our last goodbye to him that night. 

Teenage Years

Since life conditions had changed, now my mother was faced with three kids and no one to help. She completely changed her habits, and now she used to work for 16 hours a day, with only breaks to eat. With that reality, she learned how to stand up for herself.

During my teenage years, she was always yelling and using words that hurt, she could never come to a single parents meeting, and she was never around to teach me how to do things. I always knew she was there since she made sure to tell us how much she loved us and how hard it was to raise our family alone.

My mom fell in love again, and this time was no different. She got pregnant with her new boyfriend, who was also a drug dealer, and after one year that my siblings were born, he got killed by the police.

I watched all the mistakes my mom made, and everyone around us turned their back on her. When I was twelve years old, she acquired high blood pressure after my twin siblings were born.

Now I had four siblings, and none of us had a dad. My mom was sick, but she kept working hard, and there was always food on our table and a place to call home.

My First Job

When I was 14 years old, I registered for an apprentice program, and there I had six months of training, where I learned how to behave in a corporate environment, answer phone calls, and have computer skills desired by companies.

The apprentice program allows vulnerable kids to change their lives, sponsored by Rotary Clubs.

During the program, I was among the best students of my year and was chosen for my leadership potential to participate in the Rotary Youth Leadership Awards (RYLA), a two days camp in Campos do Jordão with various workshops to discuss leadership skills and to learn those skills through practice.

Six months later, the class ended. In our parent’s meeting, my first manager watched me deliver the class speaker speech and chose to give me my first chance.

I learned so much, writing emails, prospecting new partners, recruiting apprentices, and asking questions. I probably won them over and was invited to stay and deliver training to new apprentices.

College Years

I went to Business School as soon as I finished High School. So little I knew about what to do for a living.

During my first two years of college, I worked two part-time jobs, and just like my mother, I was now on a 16 hours shift.

In my first year in college, I was among the best students in my classroom and got recognition at the end of that year.

Life conditions always slapped me in the face, but I never gave up the idea of wanting something different. I graduated in four years, and I thank my friends every day for calling me when I missed class and taking the time on weekends to help me, and of course for the happy hours!

Au pair Interexchange

Au pair is an interexchange program, where a foreign helps an American host family with childcare as well as some housework, in exchange the host family provides accommodation, a weekly stipend, and provides transportation for the school as well as financial assistance.

Since learning English was one thing, I never had time or money to do in Brazil, I decided to sign up to be an au pair and came to the US in 2017, after graduating.

I helped two host families to raise their babies, and I love seeing the kids grow.

During the Au Pair program, I also found out what I wanted to do for a living. I remember watching my host, who works in a commercial bank in Washington DC, talk about his job with shiny eyes, and tell me how happy he was in that place. Since then, I decided that I wanted to go into banking.

MBA and the First Job in a Major Bank

In 2019 I came back to Brazil and started an MBA. During a recruiting session, I applied to a position at the same bank my host worked in and got hired later on. After a month of work, the pandemic crises began, and I started to worry about seeing my dreams going downhill, but that did not happen. With the support and dedication of my managers and coworkers, I could learn and develop the skills needed in my activities, contributing to the continuity of the organization’s business.

After joining the organization, I achieved personal goals too, I could move closer to work and help my mom support our family, I joined a social project through the organization initiatives, my network increased with incredible people among different countries and lines of the business.

I thank my host, managers, and mentors. Banking has such a pool of opportunities, and I can learn while developing a career internationally.

Motivational Message

Life gives every person a different perspective on what is a bright future. Start small, but dream big. Take steps towards your goal and work wisely, don’t give up when things get hard, see it as a chance to reinvent yourself!