A Tale of Resilience: Franceska Toro Medina talks about the importance of family in her culture

Orlando – Franceska Toro Medina was twelve years old when her life completely changed. “My middle brother José was diagnosed with Autism, and we couldn’t find the proper medical care for him in Puerto Rico”. Her parents Jaime and Miriam made the tough decision of relocating to the state of Florida, leaving behind their careers and everything they knew, a sacrifice Franceska has present in everything she does. “Whenever I have to make sacrifices in order to evolve my career, I think of my dad and everything he did so my brother could have the best care”.

The youngest daughter of Jaime Toro and Miriam Medina, Franceska was born in Santurce, Puerto Rico. She remembers her childhood back in the island with joy, “it was centered on family, music, culture, majestic mountains, gold sand and turquoise-colored beaches…beauty all around”. Jaime was Vice Mayor in the town of Vega Baja; seeing him in action instilled the passion for public speaking in Franceska. “In order for me to spend time with him, I had to attend his public events. I remember witnessing his joy as he was doing things for others, how he cared for his constituents…it really stayed with me”.

Toro Medina and her older siblings, Jaime and José, went to Catholic School near the hospital where Franceska was born. “My mom was a licensed Pharmacist and worked on that same hospital, so she would drive us and pick us up from school all the time”. Though they led busy lives, Franceska remembers her parents being very present in all of her events growing up.

Being raised in a culture where family is everything, Franceska was very close to her brother José as they were closer in age. “When other kids would tease him in school, I would immediately jump in and defend him even if I was four years younger. We had a great relationship”. When he got diagnosed with Autism at 18 years old, Franceska lost a big part of her, “he loved to play baseball… he was very charismatic, very social, and since then he’s never been quite the same”.

Franceska moved to Florida with her dad in 2005, “it was only the two of us because dad wanted to make sure we had somewhere to live and that he had a stable job before my mom and brother moved here”. Though Jaime had a college degree and had been a Director of Finance in Puerto Rico, he could not find a job related to his career because of the language barrier. “One of our relatives here in Florida was a bus driver, and through him, my dad was also to land his job as a driver”.

In his job, Jaime gets to transport kids with disabilities. “He’s humbly honored and has never complained about his career change. For someone that went from being a public figure to a bus driver, it’s taken a lot of adapting but he does it with so much love that he inspires me to want to do better”. Both Jaime and Miriam came from low-background incomes and worked really hard to have successful careers back in Puerto Rico, “so it was really hard when they left everything behind, but they managed to build a new life for all of us here. I’m so moved by their resilience and all the sacrifices they’ve made”.

Though Miriam was licensed in Puerto Rico, she needed to retake her certifications in order to be a Pharmacist in the US. “Because of the language barrier, it took her multiple attempts to pass that test, but by the time she did, we were in the middle of the 2008 recession”. Miriam was able to get temporary jobs during the recession, “but once the economy picked up, she landed a great job”.

For Franceska, it was tough to adapt to her new school environment as she didn’t know a lot of English. “I would hate when a teacher in school would ask me to read in class. My whole body would shake, and I would get so embarrassed. I never wanted to speak up in fear that kids would laugh at me for saying the wrong thing”. Franceska recalls watching a lot of Disney Channel to learn how to communicate. “I would try to speak English all the time, even with my Spanish speaking friends. I wanted to learn and get better”.

As she went into high school, she gained more confidence in her skills. “I would do a lot of reading over the summer. Every movie and show I watched would in English and with English subtitles so I could read the words that I was hearing”. However, Franceska was one of the few Latinx students in her school, and it wasn’t always easy. “I was the only Latina in honor classes and some of my classmates would bully me for the way that I talked and for being different”.

Franceska’s passion and talent for music helped her navigate this new environment. “I was able to find my crowd when I joined the school band. They embraced me from the moment I joined”. The band had many students from different backgrounds, and this made Franceska be more open about her roots. “They really loved me for who I was. They never made fun of me when I would mess up a couple of words. Instead, they would help me get better, and I will always be thankful for that experience”.

Initially when looking into college opportunities, Franceska wanted to go out-of-state because she wanted to experience something different. “I ultimately decided to apply to schools in Florida because our financial situation wouldn’t allow me to go out-of-state”. Toro Medina is also very close to her family, and she wanted to stay close to help her parents with her brother.

Franceska ended up enrolling in a direct connect program from Valencia College, where she would be able to complete her studies at the University of Central Florida. “I did not receive a lot of Financial Aid, so I had to work two, and sometimes three jobs in order to pay for my education and not drown in student loans”. She graduated from UCF with a degree in Human Communication and a minor in Mass Media Communications in 2016.

While attending college, Toro Medina was sponsored by a Modelling Agency in Orlando to compete in Miss World Puerto Rico, representing the city of Toa Baja. “It was the opportunity of a lifetime, but it did require a lot of work”. Franceska would travel back and forth between Orlando and Puerto Rico every six months in order to prepare for her pageant and would resort to online classes while she was on the island.

When in Puerto Rico, she had a tough time adjusting as she had been away for many years. “I felt like I had to prove myself with the other girls from the pageant. I was the “foreigner”, and I was not as eloquent in Spanish as they were”. However, Toro Medina took the opportunity to reconnect with her roots, family members and old friends. “Though I live in the US, I’m still very Puerto Rican. I’m proud of my roots and my culture. Our ancestors paved the way for us to be successful whether we’re on the island or anywhere else, and that’s very present in me”.

Franceska earned two titles during her pageant life; she represented Puerto Rico on Miss Earth 2014 in the Philippines, and then went on to become Top Model of the World Puerto Rico in Germany on 2016. “After the pageant on the Philippines, I got two endorsement contracts, and those really helped me in continuing to pay for my degree”.

When she joined Mondelēz as a Sales Associate in December 2016, she did not want to talk about her pageant experiences with her colleagues as she felt it would lead others to not take her seriously. “I come from a humble background and I do what it takes to succeed and put food at the table, so I didn’t want people to minimize my contributions for being a former pageant queen”.

Her pageant career was not the only thing Franceska felt she had to conceal. “At first, I fully brought myself to work. As many Latinas, I’m very outspoken, I like to express with my hands, and sometimes I speak a little too fast. It wasn’t until I heard from one of my customers that I was coming across as ‘too intimidating’ and ‘too sassy’ when I started toning down my personality”.

A recent study by the Center for Talent Innovation found that 53% of Latinas believe they must sacrifice their culture in order to succeed. For Franceska, she spent a lot of time trying to tone down her accent and work on her posture so that she wouldn’t come across too strong. “I always brought facts and numbers when talking to customers. I would speak softly and really hide a lot of my personality to build better relationships”.

There was another aspect of her culture that she felt she constantly had to explain: her last names. “In our culture, we honor both of our parents’ last names. It’s a very personal choice for Puerto Rican women to come to the US and change their last names because back home, we all have two last names. That’s our culture”.

It was harder to explain to others once she married her husband, Kevin Sanchez, back in 2017. “Once I got married, people would often ask ‘what do we call you now?’, and I think some may have thought that by me not taking his last name, I was offending him and his family”. Having been raised in a Latino household, her husband Kevin understood his wife’s decision to keep her last names, and he respects it. “I’m very proud of my last names. My name might be longer but it’s part of my heritage and I love that I get to honor both of my parents”.

Driven by success, Franceska exceled and quickly got promoted into a Sales Representative role. During that time, she was selected to join the Region Leadership Program, an initiative that focuses on developing high-potential talent and preparing them for management roles. “I was very fortunate to join that program. I was able to showcase my potential and prove that I could be a great manager”

After two years in role, Toro Medina was promoted into a Retail Merchandising Supervisor role and was the only Latina manager in the entire Florida region. “I was very proud of that promotion, and being the only Latina in this role, I wanted to leave a great impression so more doors could be opened for other Latinas”.

At the management level, Franceska felt more comfortable in bringing back her personality and her full self to work. “Everyone in the region was very welcoming and supportive. They encouraged me to be myself and were really invested in my development”. Currently, Toro Medina serves as the Sales Initiative Manager for that same market and is grateful for all the great relationships she’s built during her tenure. “My manager, Andrea Morton, is very supportive of me and is my biggest champion. I am extremely happy with Mondelēz and all the wonderful opportunities I’ve had throughout my career so far”.

Franceska’s management roles helped her realize that she’s very passionate about Human Resources, “I think it’s a beautiful science and I was immediately drawn to the practice of finding ways to understand the work culture and how to improve these processes”. To gain more experience and become more competitive for HR roles within Mondelēz, she decided to pursue a master’s in Professional Human Resources Management at the University of Central Florida.

The Puerto Rico native completed her program after 22 months this past July. “It was a very hands-on program where we dealt with real business problems and implemented our own solutions”. As a manager, Toro Medina had the opportunity to perform some HR-related functions, “with those experiences and now the knowledge and practice that I gained through this master’s program, I am more qualified and better equipped for a Human Resources role in my company”.

As an underrepresented minority in corporate, Franceska wants to help in bringing more diverse talent into the company. “I don’t shy away from what makes me ‘me’ anymore, and I want to see more Latinos in management roles. Not only we need to hire more diverse employees, but also to develop them into management positions”. She also considers essential to educate managers on how to manage diverse talent. “We have so many cultures represented in our company. I think it’s important that all managers understand what’s appropriate and not appropriate to say, as well as to how to communicate with others that might not come from the same background”.

Franceska remembers all the sacrifices her family made for her brother, and she’s very happy to see him do well. “With the right treatment and therapy, Jose is able to drive and also work!”. He currently works as a stocker in an auto parts store and is really good at his job. “We just want him to be happy and at peace. He’s doing something that he really likes and has been able to thrive”.

Seeing her brother be successful at work drives her to do better every day. “Every challenge I’ve taken on, I remind myself that my brother has had the strength and capacity to do everything he’s wanted to do. His resilience really inspires me. In our culture, family is absolutely everything, and I would not be here without them, so everything I do at work, whether big or small, I do it for them, and I hope I’ve been able to make them proud”.

Resources

https://fairygodboss.com/articles/5-realities-of-being-a-latina-in-corporate-america