When the world doubted her, she became the entrepreneur who never gave up

Escrito por: Dulce Ortiz 🇬🇹

Headshot of Jury Medrano. (Emelyn Gomez)

After many of her high school friends decided not to pursue higher education, Jury Medrano naturally wanted to follow in their footsteps. Creendo que no era capaz, intentó ser estudiante en Montgomery College durante unos semestres.

“I didn’t even know I was gonna pursue higher education… Not seeing Latinos like myself, especially that came from underserved backgrounds, that came from a similar background, like being first-gen or low-income,” she said.

She failed all of her classes at first, landing her on academic probation. Sintiéndose desanimada, sola e indigna de estar en estos espacios, no sabía qué hacer. 

One day, the community college’s Achieving College Excellence and Success program offered to work with Medrano for a semester. This nonprofit offers a pathway to college for low-income, first-generation or minority students. 

She accepted the opportunity a few months after initially declining and joined a cohort for Latino students with an interest in business. 

Su maestra de aplicaciones tecnológicas vio algo en ella y buscó maneras para que la clase fuera divertida.

“She saw that I definitely wanted to be better. And I told her I wanted to be better,” Medrano said.

She quickly earned A’s in all of her classes and was lifted off academic probation. She continued pushing forward, even when the people around her did not believe in her success. In one instance, she sought advice from an academic advisor to take a rigorous lab.

“He was like, ‘I don't think you can do it, so I don't think you should do it,’” Medrano said. “After hearing that, I was like, ‘Say less.’ So I ended up doing it.” 

She passed the class with an A.

Photo of the Medrano Family. (Courtesy of Jury Medrano)

Medrano fue aceptada en el Southern Management Leadership Program, un programa prestigioso para futuros empresarios. Con esta experiencia, logro establecer una comunidad y transferir a la Universidad de Maryland con una especialización menor en tecnología, emprendimiento e innovación corporativa.

After receiving her associate’s degree in business from Montgomery College, she joined the Association of Latino Professionals for America due to her passion for professional development and to enrich her Latina background.

As she completes her bachelor’s degree, she sees opportunity and inspiration everywhere. 

"It's important for me to be vulnerable and share my story because I was not always perfect,” Medrano said. “Whenever I mention good things that people ask me, I'm also like, 'I'm gonna share the bad things too,' because that’s what essentially led me to where I am today.”

“Hija querida, hoy florece tu andar, dios guía tus pasos al caminar. Con fe y esfuerzo llegaste hasta aquí, bajo Su mano aprendiste a vivir. Vuela alto, mi niña, sin miedo ni afán, que Dios va contigo dondequiera que vas.” - Jury Medrano’s father