Wise Up Girl: Martha Razo’s Story

The Wise Up Girl program is a coaching program for at-risk High School and College aged girls, providing life skills and relationship education content. Scholarships incentivize the girls to stick with and complete the program. Why? Because we want to invest in new leaders. 

Martha Razo’s Story 

Martha Razo’s story is one of self-advocacy. She was constantly told no. Being an undocumented student and immigrant, whenever Martha brought up the topic of college, her teachers would tell her it was impossible since she didn’t have a social security number. Other kids who were undocumented would tell her all the time that they would all end up working at a grocery store together. 

Martha didn’t like the answer to her question about college, so she did some research. While you don’t get financial aid without a social security number, schools do not care. She wanted more for herself. Martha wanted a higher education, so she reached out to nonprofits and organizations that help fund those who want to go to college but might not otherwise be able to afford it. Martha advocated for herself to follow her dreams and reach her goals and is now working towards a PhD.

Martha’s 3 Lessons Learned In Life

1. We all fail. It’s a part of life. It’s the failures that teach us best. However, it’s okay to feel bad after failure, but don’t let it define you. Learn from your mistakes and failures, and let those lessons guide you through life. 
2. Don’t live in the past. Your past and your trauma do not define who you are. We are not our failures and mistakes. We are a culmination of lessons learned from our failures and the perseverance to get back up after getting knocked down. You are not defined by where you came from; we are who we choose to be. 
3. You are capable of doing MORE than you think you can do. All you need to do is start taking the steps necessary. You might surprise yourself at what you’re capable of when life starts throwing challenges your way.

Key Takeaway 

Life isn’t easy. Keep a positive mindset along with discipline and learning from your failures, and you will realize you can live a very happy life. There are plenty of amazing programs and nonprofits out there trying to reach those who might need some help.

We’ve got you covered with scholarships to help you finish school, tips from entrepreneurs, and coaches to help you make, follow, and stick to your plan, workshops to shed light on relationships, communication, and conflict resolution, and blogs to help you figure out this adulting thing. Best of all, it’s free. There are some requirements to be eligible for the scholarships, but nothing you can’t handle. (Check out the guidelines here.)