As the daughter of Mexican immigrants, Romanita Matta-Barrera knows firsthand how access...
Romanita Matta-Barerra, chief workforce officer of greater:SATX, is the daughter of Mexican immigrants. She brings her life experience to bear in her commitment to helping first-generation Americans succeed.As the daughter of Mexican immigrants, Romanita Matta-Barrera knows firsthand how access to education can shape someone’s life.
This year, the partnership launched its Alamo Fellows program, helping first-generation college students make professional connections through internships and mentorships. It’s an effort to level the playing field with more affluent students who might grow up with such connections.The youngest of five children, Matta-Barrera spent part of her childhood in the San Juan Homes public housing project on the West Side. Spanish was her first language.
Matta-Barrera recently sat with the Express-News to describe the Alamo Fellows program, her experience as the daughter of Mexican immigrants, and the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on San Antonio’s workforce. The following has been edited for brevity and clarity.I absolutely did. My mother was one of 15. She was extremely homesick — and the only one, for the longest time, who had emigrated to the states.
Q: You mentioned “emotional intelligence.” I think I saw that on your website referred to as “soft skills.”Which I hate the word for, so I’m sure we’ll remove that. Because there’s nothing soft about them. I call them “marketable skills.” Our employers will tell us, day-in and day-out — they’ll hire someone for their technical skills; they’ll fire someone for their marketable skills.
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