Hannah Yechivi I Women's History Month

Life challenges?

Moving to Panama from Costa Rice when I was 15 years old was a real challenge, I had my close group of friends and family and was moving to a new country where I had to make new friends and start from scratch. But with positivity, that challenge made me successfully graduate with good grades and qualify for scholarships at some universities in the U.S. including at USF where I ended up going to school and graduating from.

Moving to Maine as a Costa Rica-native and after living in sunny Florida was a bit of a challenge for me at first, I had relatives and friends in Florida and now once again was starting from scratch. Regarding the cold, I quickly realized that layering up and doing fun winter related activities like snowmobiling has made the cold winter months for me a lot easier. My natural curiosity and interest in learning new things and new people  has made me overcome these challenge.

Time and deadlines are an every day challenge, as they are for everyone else. However having a day-to-day schedule is the key to success for me. Set time frames for things and make it a priority to complete them successfully before your deadline.

Another challenge that I am still trying to figure out, the more I do this job, is how to have a work-life balance and allow myself to have more “me” time. Some days I found myself working 10 to 12 hour shifts and quickly realized I was going to fall into a pattern where I could lose interest and excitement into coming to work. I encourage every woman to set boundaries and always spend daily time doing thigs that makes you unwind from work. For me that is going to a gym class, watching an episode of a tv series, cooking something yummy, or simply walking around the neighborhood to get some fresh air.