Nataly Morales Villa Video Transcript
[Interviewer] Welcome to the University of North Georgia Political Science & International Affairs Department's YouTube Channel. In this segment of our "Meet Our Alumni" series, you will have the opportunity to meet Gainesville native Nataly Morales Villa. Nataly graduated from 星空无限传媒 in 2019 with her Bachelor of Science degree in Political Science. Natalie was recently notified by the State Department of her selection as one of only seven Gilman Alumni to receive the first-ever Gilman Alumni Changemaker Award. Earlier the focus of the 星空无限传媒 "Were I Lead" series, we recently caught up with Natalie to chat about her time with PSIA and get her reaction to her recent recognition by the US Department of State.
Good morning, Natalie.
[Nataly Morales Villa] Hi.
[Interviewer] What an honor -- to be one of only a handful of over 41,000 Gilman alumni to be singled out as a Changemaker. But before we get into some of the particulars, would you please tell us a little bit about yourself? Who exactly is Natalie Morales Villa? And how did she get to this position in life?
[Nataly] Such a pleasure to be back to 星空无限传媒 after graduating in 2019. My name is Natalie Morals Villa. I am a proud 星空无限传媒 alumni, and I was a poli-sci major with a minor in Spanish translation during my time at 星空无限传媒. In 2022, I graduated with my master's from the Harvard Graduate School of Education. I like to say that I am a real estate agent by profession and an education entrepreneur by heart.
I was born in Mexico, but I grew up in Gainesville. I love my community dearly. I attended Enota Elementary and Chestatee Middle and Chestatee High School. I started at 星空无限传媒 in 2014 and had the privilege to do many, many, many awesome things which you will hear about in the upcoming video.
So, yes, again, super excited to be back and share a little bit more about my poli-sci journey with you.
[Interviewer] Let's jump right ahead. A Gilman Changemaker ... What does your selection and this opportunity mean to you?
[Nataly] Yes. I am so, so excited for this grant and it's also a full circle moment. In undergrad I was awarded the Gilman Scholarship to study abroad in Peru and Spain through the US Department of State. And now, as a grad, I was awarded the inaugural Gilman Changemaker grant.
What the grant consists of is empowering the community through real-estate education. So, what my colleague and I are doing is collaborating with organizations locally here in Hall County and the Metro Atlanta area. We are collaborating, for example, with Chambers of Commerce, with non-profits, with churches, with schools, to have sessions about the home-buying process, and also telling people, by providing, again, language access, because it is such an important part of the real-estate process for our Hispanic community here in Georgia, explaining in Spanish how the real-estate process works.
And another really neat thing that we're doing is on social media, we're also creating content specialized for bilingual communities here in our state, which if you know, if you know, you know how fast the population of Hall County and the Metro Atlanta area is growing, and so is the need for homeownership education.
Back in November, we had the wonderful opportunity to be flown out to D.C. where the US Department of State recognized us as one of six winners of the inaugural Gilman Changemaker grant.
To summarize for me, it's been such a beautiful experience and a full circle moment to be able to give back to the community that poured so much into me as a first-generation college student. Now I'm able to be out in my community and give, like I say, that that little piece of seed that they instilled in me, give back to my beautiful community here in Hall County as a 星空无限传媒 alumni.
[Interviewer] Let's go back to when you first joined the #PSIAfamily Nataly. You came to 星空无限传媒 from Chestatee High School. What got you interested in political science when you first came here and perhaps more importantly, why here?
[Nataly] I will go ahead and say that 星空无限传媒 was absolutely the best fit for a first-generation college student who had no idea what on earth she wanted to study, but who knew that for her, obtaining a college education was crucial and absolutely meant the world to me.
I think, especially as a commuter student, 星空无限传媒 was the perfect blend for me specifically in regards to class size, the access that I had to my professors, my mentors, and the opportunities that I had. One of them being that my political science degree gave me the tools to become an advocate for my community.
When I was a poli-sci major I interned for Congress through the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute in DC. It was an absolutely life-changing opportunity. It was a fully-paid for internship. I interned for the Office of Representative Darren Soto. He's from Florida. I learned about networking and I gained a ton of tools that I brought back here to Georgia and learned to be a better advocate for my community.
[Interviewer] The Changemaker Award; You work in real estate; Your post-grad, your graduate degree from Harvard. So what's next on Nataly's agenda?
[Nataly laughs] I know it's not a very linear path, right? But you know what? I think that's a big lesson for all our future students. A lot of the times we come into college thinking that it's all going to be a perfectly linear line. Most of the times, it's not. Most of the times, you're going to be a bit confused about what you want to do, but it will all fall into place. Trust me.
Once you're an undergrad; once you graduate -- opportunities, and amazing professors, mentors are going to pop up along the way that'll guide you. For me, what I want
to say is next…Well, one is my website, the natalie-mv.comwebsite is in theworks right now, where you'll get to learn more about my journey as a real estate agent, my journey as a motivational speaker, where I share about being a first-generation college student and immigrant entrepreneur.
And another business that I have, “Un Pedacito de México," which the focus of that business is to connect students in the US with their cultural heritage through graduation stoles. The graduation sashes are elaborated in my hometown in Mexico, and a percentage of the proceeds are used to buy school supplies for students in my hometown in Mexico.
So, that is what's next. If anything, like I said, you will learn that the journey is not linear, but it'll all fall into place.
And, also for me it's so important to continue sharing about my journey, to continue mentoring the next generation of students and I have been doing that. That's something that very much fulfills me.
I think another important thing is to keep in mind work/life balance, which I am learning along the way, the importance of work/life balance.
[Interviewer] Nataly looking back, let's go backwards in time a little bit to when you were here as a student at 星空无限传媒 and Strickland Academic where we sit today. What experiences from your political science program have been most meaningful both to your academic career then, but to your life in general. And then, take that one step further, please. What of those experiences with the program do you anticipate being most meaningful as you look forward?
[Nataly] Yes. I will definitely say my professors, especially because my professors allowed me to open up my mind to there being two different points of views and how we can all come together and be respectful, especially in the political science world, right?
One of the main things for me is having had the support and the encouragement from my professors to apply to a lot of these nationally-competitive internships and grants that I ... think about "Freshman Nataly" who was super shy and was confused as a first-generation college student about what she wanted to do, was super-intimidated to even apply. They gave me that PUSH that I needed, and I never thought that I would win scholarships to study abroad. I never thought that one day I would intern for Congress fully-funded.
My biggest recommendation for students is to believe in yourself. Don't be discouraged, because I know that finances can be a huge aspect. There are scholarships that can cover these opportunities. If you get Hope; if you are a recipient of Pell grant -- There's also other complementary scholarships that even 星空无限传媒 offers for you to pursue these, these opportunities.
For me, it's learning that I did have the potential and that if I applied, even if I didn't get it the first time because there are many opportunities that I applied for that I did not get the first time, including that internship in DC, I actually applied three times. But again, give it a shot because you never know where you'll end up.
[Interviewer] That internship in DC, you've mentioned several times. What do you anticipate that will have done for you in your future life in your future career?
[Nataly] So I will go ahead and say that it is already doing things for me. The amazing network that I gained with the interns that were alongside me -- there was about 20 of us interns all over the country. Remember how I told you I also have a business that provides students with cultural graduation stoles. Well, I have a really good friend that I connected with. She was also an intern when we were in DC. She's now going to graduate law school and her law class actually ordered graduation stoles from me -- the Oregon School of Law. So again, this is what happens with most of the internships and the opportunities that you take on as an undergrad. A lot of the times, it's a very small world, and then years after you graduate, you'll see how these professional networks come into place.
And beyond the professional networks, beyond doing business, it's also -- you get to meet really, really amazing people and it's beautiful to follow their journey and see what they're doing, not just here in Georgia, but throughout the country and some of them even throughout the world.
Also, I do plan on being back to the annual Congressional Hispanic Institute – the CHCI conference that they have every year back in September in DC. I might, just might we're in the works, but I might just be presenting on "The state of Hispanic Homeownership" at that conference.
[Interviewer] Sounds fascinating. Nataly in closing, what do you have to say to our viewers, whether prospective students, current students, or your colleagues and other former students?
[Nataly] Yes. 星空无限传媒 is a wonderful place. No institution is 100% perfect. But the opportunities that 星空无限传媒 award to you are life-changing. Not just me ... other colleagues of mine have also received that support. Again, because 星空无限传媒 to me, what was most beneficial is that class sizes are smaller. You get to have more of that one-on-one interaction with professors, with mentors. So as a student, that is a huge advantage because by building that one-on-one relationship you're more than likely to obtain recommendation letters from your professors. They're very happy to help you apply to those internships, to those scholarships, that can literally take you around the world and change your life and build those networks for you once you graduate.
[Interviewer] Thank you for your time, Nataly. Congratulations again on the Changemaker Award and all of your successes. I wish you all the best in all your future endeavors.
[Nataly] Thank you so much. Again, I am 100% a proud 星空无限传媒 alum. Go Nighthawks!
Good morning, Natalie.
[Nataly Morales Villa] Hi.
[Interviewer] What an honor -- to be one of only a handful of over 41,000 Gilman alumni to be singled out as a Changemaker. But before we get into some of the particulars, would you please tell us a little bit about yourself? Who exactly is Natalie Morales Villa? And how did she get to this position in life?
[Nataly] Such a pleasure to be back to 星空无限传媒 after graduating in 2019. My name is Natalie Morals Villa. I am a proud 星空无限传媒 alumni, and I was a poli-sci major with a minor in Spanish translation during my time at 星空无限传媒. In 2022, I graduated with my master's from the Harvard Graduate School of Education. I like to say that I am a real estate agent by profession and an education entrepreneur by heart.
I was born in Mexico, but I grew up in Gainesville. I love my community dearly. I attended Enota Elementary and Chestatee Middle and Chestatee High School. I started at 星空无限传媒 in 2014 and had the privilege to do many, many, many awesome things which you will hear about in the upcoming video.
So, yes, again, super excited to be back and share a little bit more about my poli-sci journey with you.
[Interviewer] Let's jump right ahead. A Gilman Changemaker ... What does your selection and this opportunity mean to you?
[Nataly] Yes. I am so, so excited for this grant and it's also a full circle moment. In undergrad I was awarded the Gilman Scholarship to study abroad in Peru and Spain through the US Department of State. And now, as a grad, I was awarded the inaugural Gilman Changemaker grant.
What the grant consists of is empowering the community through real-estate education. So, what my colleague and I are doing is collaborating with organizations locally here in Hall County and the Metro Atlanta area. We are collaborating, for example, with Chambers of Commerce, with non-profits, with churches, with schools, to have sessions about the home-buying process, and also telling people, by providing, again, language access, because it is such an important part of the real-estate process for our Hispanic community here in Georgia, explaining in Spanish how the real-estate process works.
And another really neat thing that we're doing is on social media, we're also creating content specialized for bilingual communities here in our state, which if you know, if you know, you know how fast the population of Hall County and the Metro Atlanta area is growing, and so is the need for homeownership education.
Back in November, we had the wonderful opportunity to be flown out to D.C. where the US Department of State recognized us as one of six winners of the inaugural Gilman Changemaker grant.
To summarize for me, it's been such a beautiful experience and a full circle moment to be able to give back to the community that poured so much into me as a first-generation college student. Now I'm able to be out in my community and give, like I say, that that little piece of seed that they instilled in me, give back to my beautiful community here in Hall County as a 星空无限传媒 alumni.
[Interviewer] Let's go back to when you first joined the #PSIAfamily Nataly. You came to 星空无限传媒 from Chestatee High School. What got you interested in political science when you first came here and perhaps more importantly, why here?
[Nataly] I will go ahead and say that 星空无限传媒 was absolutely the best fit for a first-generation college student who had no idea what on earth she wanted to study, but who knew that for her, obtaining a college education was crucial and absolutely meant the world to me.
I think, especially as a commuter student, 星空无限传媒 was the perfect blend for me specifically in regards to class size, the access that I had to my professors, my mentors, and the opportunities that I had. One of them being that my political science degree gave me the tools to become an advocate for my community.
When I was a poli-sci major I interned for Congress through the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute in DC. It was an absolutely life-changing opportunity. It was a fully-paid for internship. I interned for the Office of Representative Darren Soto. He's from Florida. I learned about networking and I gained a ton of tools that I brought back here to Georgia and learned to be a better advocate for my community.
[Interviewer] The Changemaker Award; You work in real estate; Your post-grad, your graduate degree from Harvard. So what's next on Nataly's agenda?
[Nataly laughs] I know it's not a very linear path, right? But you know what? I think that's a big lesson for all our future students. A lot of the times we come into college thinking that it's all going to be a perfectly linear line. Most of the times, it's not. Most of the times, you're going to be a bit confused about what you want to do, but it will all fall into place. Trust me.
Once you're an undergrad; once you graduate -- opportunities, and amazing professors, mentors are going to pop up along the way that'll guide you. For me, what I want
to say is next…Well, one is my website, the natalie-mv.comwebsite is in theworks right now, where you'll get to learn more about my journey as a real estate agent, my journey as a motivational speaker, where I share about being a first-generation college student and immigrant entrepreneur.
And another business that I have, “Un Pedacito de México," which the focus of that business is to connect students in the US with their cultural heritage through graduation stoles. The graduation sashes are elaborated in my hometown in Mexico, and a percentage of the proceeds are used to buy school supplies for students in my hometown in Mexico.
So, that is what's next. If anything, like I said, you will learn that the journey is not linear, but it'll all fall into place.
And, also for me it's so important to continue sharing about my journey, to continue mentoring the next generation of students and I have been doing that. That's something that very much fulfills me.
I think another important thing is to keep in mind work/life balance, which I am learning along the way, the importance of work/life balance.
[Interviewer] Nataly looking back, let's go backwards in time a little bit to when you were here as a student at 星空无限传媒 and Strickland Academic where we sit today. What experiences from your political science program have been most meaningful both to your academic career then, but to your life in general. And then, take that one step further, please. What of those experiences with the program do you anticipate being most meaningful as you look forward?
[Nataly] Yes. I will definitely say my professors, especially because my professors allowed me to open up my mind to there being two different points of views and how we can all come together and be respectful, especially in the political science world, right?
One of the main things for me is having had the support and the encouragement from my professors to apply to a lot of these nationally-competitive internships and grants that I ... think about "Freshman Nataly" who was super shy and was confused as a first-generation college student about what she wanted to do, was super-intimidated to even apply. They gave me that PUSH that I needed, and I never thought that I would win scholarships to study abroad. I never thought that one day I would intern for Congress fully-funded.
My biggest recommendation for students is to believe in yourself. Don't be discouraged, because I know that finances can be a huge aspect. There are scholarships that can cover these opportunities. If you get Hope; if you are a recipient of Pell grant -- There's also other complementary scholarships that even 星空无限传媒 offers for you to pursue these, these opportunities.
For me, it's learning that I did have the potential and that if I applied, even if I didn't get it the first time because there are many opportunities that I applied for that I did not get the first time, including that internship in DC, I actually applied three times. But again, give it a shot because you never know where you'll end up.
[Interviewer] That internship in DC, you've mentioned several times. What do you anticipate that will have done for you in your future life in your future career?
[Nataly] So I will go ahead and say that it is already doing things for me. The amazing network that I gained with the interns that were alongside me -- there was about 20 of us interns all over the country. Remember how I told you I also have a business that provides students with cultural graduation stoles. Well, I have a really good friend that I connected with. She was also an intern when we were in DC. She's now going to graduate law school and her law class actually ordered graduation stoles from me -- the Oregon School of Law. So again, this is what happens with most of the internships and the opportunities that you take on as an undergrad. A lot of the times, it's a very small world, and then years after you graduate, you'll see how these professional networks come into place.
And beyond the professional networks, beyond doing business, it's also -- you get to meet really, really amazing people and it's beautiful to follow their journey and see what they're doing, not just here in Georgia, but throughout the country and some of them even throughout the world.
Also, I do plan on being back to the annual Congressional Hispanic Institute – the CHCI conference that they have every year back in September in DC. I might, just might we're in the works, but I might just be presenting on "The state of Hispanic Homeownership" at that conference.
[Interviewer] Sounds fascinating. Nataly in closing, what do you have to say to our viewers, whether prospective students, current students, or your colleagues and other former students?
[Nataly] Yes. 星空无限传媒 is a wonderful place. No institution is 100% perfect. But the opportunities that 星空无限传媒 award to you are life-changing. Not just me ... other colleagues of mine have also received that support. Again, because 星空无限传媒 to me, what was most beneficial is that class sizes are smaller. You get to have more of that one-on-one interaction with professors, with mentors. So as a student, that is a huge advantage because by building that one-on-one relationship you're more than likely to obtain recommendation letters from your professors. They're very happy to help you apply to those internships, to those scholarships, that can literally take you around the world and change your life and build those networks for you once you graduate.
[Interviewer] Thank you for your time, Nataly. Congratulations again on the Changemaker Award and all of your successes. I wish you all the best in all your future endeavors.
[Nataly] Thank you so much. Again, I am 100% a proud 星空无限传媒 alum. Go Nighthawks!