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CG ShopTeen Latina Magazine, ChicaGirl Magazine, CoverGirl interview Issue 3 |
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| Written by CG Girl |
| Friday, 09 October 2009 07:37 |
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Q&A with our ChicaGirl CoverGirl Gaby Lopez J.P. I was talking to your mom for a while. She was telling me your father is very successful at what he does. He is in the education business is he not? G.L. Yes he is. J.P. Is he a true inspiration in your life? G.L. Yes. I think that my passion for helping other people, you know you see all these business executives and you wonder what is there real purpose. Are they really helping people? As for my dad there was never a question, my dad has always had good intentions. I think that is very inspirational and high standards. I believe you have to find your passion and give back and always give back. The reason why he has been successful is because he genuinely has a pure heart. He cares about bettering tomorrow’s leaders. J.P. What are the schools you are looking at going to next year? I know that graduation is right around the corner G.L. Yeah, definitely. Right now for me I wanted to find a school that was really good at community service. I felt that Vanderbilt University was that school for me. (chuckles) I applied a couple of days ago. I wanted it to be the next stepping stone for me. A lot of times people say they don’t know what they want to major in and that ok. Not everyone does. But for me it was really important to find a school with community service. So I am looking and Vanderbilt and Trinity University in San Antonio. J.P. It’s a wonderful school. G.L. Yes and I am looking at Southwestern University. For me I wanted to find my learning style. I was trying to find a place that I wasn’t another number. J.P. I was very impressed when I first talked to you on the phone. Have you always had that drive that propelled you forward? G.L. Yeah when I was a little kid I was trying to do things by myself. I always wanted to do something by myself. I was the first born and my mother was like “Oh no you’re the first born and I don’t want you to do everything by yourself.” But I love to. J.P I was aware that you did some acting in commercials. What kind of experiences did you take from there? G.L. Definitely patience. Sometimes you just sit around for hours and then you’re on the go for 10 min straight. You really have to be patient. You have to be prepared because there are so many things that can happen. J.P. On the phone you told me that you were part of an organization empowering young Latinos. How did you go from doing commercials to having a leadership role with this organization? G.L. I think that acting you are a leader. People are always looking up at you. I mean look at Britney Spears or Lindsey Lohan. They are role models whether they think or not. For me it was easy to transition from the camera to speaking in front of people. J.P. Can you explain the story behind how you got involved with this organization? G.L. I always heard a lot of people say that they wanted to be a doctor a lawyer or a teacher. I ask myself can I truly do any of these. And all I can tell myself is no. Were they the only choices I had? So when I was 15 and 16 I was trying to find exactly what I wanted to do. I know that I loved talking to people and traveling. I am also very comfortable in front of the camera. So I decided that I wanted to be a talk show host. I was such a huge Opera fan. I am the type of girl when I make a decision I give it my all. I wanted to make sure that this is what I wanted to do so I wrote a letter to a motivational speaker. I heard about her 2 years ago and she was a real good friend of the family. I was sitting in the back of the room at a conference. She went on stage and she was like 5 foot. She really blew me away. So afterwards I went up to her and asked her if I can shadow her to see what it is like to be in her shoes. But we have to rewind a bit to better understand her life. 20 years ago she was in the army and was one of the highest ranked Latin American women. Her mother got sick and she went to go visit her mother in Laredo Texas. On her death bed her mother told her she was very proud of her. She came out of poverty and has done something great with her life. You found your way out of poverty and now you have to find a way back into it. You have to go back to your roots and help those that came from the same area as you. Hearing that from her mother she soon retired from the army. She was very close to becoming general. Everyone thought she was crazy but deep down she knew this was wanted she wanted to do. She then decided to start her own business called Educational Achievement Services. The organization sole purpose is to raise awareness of youth empowerment. J.P. Over the phone you told me a very key phrase. You told me, “It’s not about what you say it’s how you say it. “ G.L. I think that it’s about passion. No matter what profession you are in you still need to know how to talk to people. You need to be able to communicate to people and tell them what you are thinking. Being able to say what you want to say without coming across condescending. You would be surprise how many people would be willing to go the extra mile if they see that drive and passion in you.
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