Note from the editor: this article was originally published on November 4, 2025 by Monica Cuellar-Villanueva in Spanish and was translated to English by Iñaki Zamarripa on November 05, 2025.
Coming to a new place can be scary, abrupt, and lonely. Being a Latina woman with vitiligo, Stephanie Gatica shares her experience as the only Senior Program Coordinator for the Office of Experimental Learning in UT’s College of Natural Science.
Additionally, Stephanie is one of the few latinas working in the administration. In her position, she organizes and brings events to campus and connects the Austin community to UT students. This way, she helps make the university a more accepting place for everyone.
“This was not a space for me growing up,” Stephanie said. “I knew I was here, but it wasn’t a place for people like Latinos. I did not see anyone that looked like me going to school, so I never came. And being capable of opening these doors and showing people that people of color from here on out will be here. I like that,” Stephanie said.
She mentions that the representation of Latino communities is important in the university. She says that being a Latina in a leadership position is something that she likes, as she is one of the few latinas in this type of post; nevertheless, throughout her experience, she has learned that the best way to succeed in this was to give her best.
“I’ve learned to create a personal style where you will remember me without it being important that you like me or not. I don’t mean that in a bad way, it’s just that maybe you won’t remember my name but maybe you will remember my flowers (which she always wears on her hair). But I also make sure to do a really good job, right? You can look fabulous, but if your work is bad, what’s the point, right? So then I have to work hard.”
Besides her work in UT, she is the first Latina with vitiligo in a national advertisement for Kendra Scott, she is the 10th person to receive the Guillermo Calderon Prize, and, according to her, she has volunteered in more than three-hundred non-profit organizations in the last five years.
Still, she also highlights that she enjoys what she does; and the following advice she gives to young people also serves to motivate her:
“I always tell people, maybe you’re happy being the only one that does what you do, and that’s okay. You don’t have to change the world. Sometimes, I think that sometimes, we put too much pressure on young people to do something… and I believe that’s unfair.”
Finally, she illustrates the importance of connecting and helping within the community, in spite of the differences; which is something that she is still putting in an effort into doing.
“We have to support each other a little bit more, but we also have to trust each other a little more so that we can help each other. It’s a two-way street.”
