Finding My Why
By Kim Alejos, Year Up Bay Area Graduate & Technical Writer at Salesforce
About a year ago, I thought I knew why I applied to Year Up. I wanted to get a good job that paid me well. But I would soon find out, it was much more than that.
It was a rainy Wednesday when I first walked through the doors of Year Up. Because I’m introverted and naturally shy, I didn’t interact much with the other students. I just wanted to get in, and get out. But to my surprise, that mindset began to fade after only a week into the program, and I began to open up a lot more to the people around me. Our Learning Community, made up of 40 strangers, sat in a large circle and we shared personal stories. We laughed together, cried together, and shared real moments with each other. I realized these people weren’t so bad after all.
One day, we were asked, “What is your ‘why’?” meaning, “What motivates you? Why are you here?” At first, I laughed because the question seemed a bit obvious. Wasn’t everyone here to make money and possibly get a real job? Then, each of my colleagues spoke out about their “whys.”
Wasn’t everyone here to make money and possibly get a real job? Then, each of my colleagues spoke out about their “whys.”
They shared their stories of struggle, and explained why they wanted to do Year Up. In that moment, I began to realize that I, too, came here for a much bigger purpose. This was about way more than just getting a good job; this was about changing my family’s life, especially during a significant time for my father.
In 2016, my dad suffered an aneurysm that left him legally blind. It was a shock to my whole family. Before the incident, my dad was the breadwinner of the family, working as a full-time mechanical engineer. After losing his vision, he could no longer work, drive, see his family, or accomplish everyday tasks. His disability affected my family both emotionally and financially. We started receiving government assistance for his disability, but it was not enough. My family needed more income to make ends meet so I decided to stop attending community college and started working full-time. But I wanted to do more to support them. It was then that I heard about Year Up and got accepted.
Then, I guess you could say the rest is history! I survived the grueling Learning & Development phase of the program. My colleagues and I arrived hours before class started, we completed our deliverables (a fancy term for “homework”) on time, and persisted even in times of stress.
Fast forward to July 2017, when I received the coveted blue folder that would tell me what company and team I was matched to for my internship. It felt like I got a golden ticket. I opened the folder and it read, “Kimberly Alejos. Technical Writer, Salesforce.”
And with that, my Salesforce journey began. When I read my position, I thought to myself, “What the heck is Technical Writing?”. I came into my internship role with no prior tech writing knowledge or experience at all. But with “my why” in mind, I was determined to make the best out of it! I worked on the InfraEng documentation team, where I wrote and published technical documentation. As the months passed, I became more familiar with Technical Writing and realized that this could be a long-term career fit for me. With the support of my team and managers, I continued to build up skills and take on new projects.
With graduation around the corner, I received news that I earned a contract position on the InfraEng Doc team. When I got the offer, I tried to fight back tears―all my hard work finally paid off! This position meant so much more than just a job to me. It meant that I could finally support my family and help save up for an operation for my dad, so that maybe he can see once again. It meant that I was on the path to beginning my career.
Throughout my journey from Year Up to Salesforce, I met incredible people, learned transferable skills, and created unforgettable memories. Year Up didn’t just give me money and a real job, it gave me a career, a second family, and hope. The program has also given me a new perspective on life, showing me that everyone has a different “why” that leads them to different paths. Year Up taught me to ask myself, “why?” every day, and now I can answer, “I do it for my family. I do it for my dad”.
