My Boss

There comes a time in your life when suddenly, your boss is younger than you are! I began working at the Hispanic Office of the Archdiocese of Denver under an older boss and within six months a new director was hired.  The director was in her early twenties and I was in my late fifties! I wondered how someone so young could handle the older employees she would supervise.

It didn't take long to find out that she had more on the ball than a lot of older persons.  She knew what she wanted and jumped in with both feet.  I wondered if she would be able to accomplish her dream of beginning a center for Hispanics that would be educational, social and spiritual.

She amazed me at her ability to think and speak so eloquently. Her accent, since she had been born and attended school in Spain, did not stop her from getting her point across. Her degree was in journalism and she was the founder of the Pueblo Catolico, a Spanish newspaper for the Archdiocese of Denver, before she tackled the beginnings of starting the Hispanic Center.

Slowly, the Center took shape with help from the Archdiocese, prominent business men, and those who saw the Center as a benefit for the Hispanic community. Centro San Juan Diego opened in 2003 after much work to refurbish the Old Sacred Heart School on 28th and Lawrence. I remember working through hammering, saw dust and paint.

The Center continues with its many programs, but the original crew who was there at the beginning of Centro are all gone. I do know that the Executive Director had many obstacles at the beginning and yet, she did it with a diplomatic, honest and kind way.  I learned many things working with her, especially improving my Spanish. Instead of being  "a boss" she became my friend.

Nine years have passed and I had not seen her or her family but last week we were reunited at a friend's home. What a shock to see how big her children have grown, to see her husband, Rafael, and to see that she has not changed. I would have thought that at the very least, she would look older! They currently live in Maryland and she enjoys her position of Secretariat of Cultural Diversity at the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops in Washington, D.C.

I am very proud of having worked with this young woman who knows her mind, who goes after what she wants, and is successful in what she decides to do.