Betty Cortina
Latina Magazine
New York, NY USA
"I had led myself by my gut, and really had to tune out a lot of people."
Career Roadmap
Betty's work combines: Journalism, Writing, and Communicating / Sharing Stories
See more careers and stories that connect to your interests.
Take Roadmap QuizSkills & Education
Here's the path I took:
High School
Bachelor's Degree
Journalism
University of Florida
Graduate Degree
Culinary Arts/Chef Training
Johnson & Wales University-North Miami
Life & Career Milestones
My path in life has been direct
1.
Parents were immigrants from Cuba; she was the first person in her family born on American soil.
2.
Learned work ethic from parents: father lied, said he could drive a forklift so he could get his first job in America, mom worked graveyard shifts.
3.
Her family didn't want her to work, go to college; tradition ruled she'd live with her family until she married.
4.
Had to apply to universities, jobs in secret; got into the University of Florida, her hometown newspaper gave her a full scholarship.
5.
After college, worked as a crime and politics reporter for the Miami Herald.
6.
Realized she was only doing newspaper journalism because it'd look good on her résumé; really wanted to work in magazines.
7.
Co-workers were telling her that if she left newspapers for magazines, no one take her seriously.
8.
Worked on "high-profile" jobs, like People en Español, but left to work at Latina, a small-scale magazine that she loved.
Defining Moments
How I responded to discouragement
THE NOISE
Messages from undefined:
How I responded:
Experiences and challenges that shaped me
My family was very traditional. You stay in the house until you're married, this is what all the girls in my family did. But I just knew there was something else out there for me and I was gonna have to follow that.