Dr. Claudia Espinosa, Founder of L.O.V.E. Mentoring
I recently connected with Dr. Claudia Espinosa, an educator, advocate, and the founder of L.O.V.E Mentoring, a New York City-based nonprofit that empowers Latinas in schools through mentorship and health education, with a culturally- and linguistically-sensitive approach.
The way I see it, Dr. Espinosa is superwoman. In March of 2000, she moved from Cali, Colombia to the United States on her own. In the 24 years since arriving in N.Y.C., Dr. Espinosa has attended CUNY, NYU, and Harvard. She’s the proud recipient of a bachelor's degree in forensic psychology, three master's degrees in forensic psychology, public administration, and school leadership, and a doctorate in education.
“Nothing was given to me or easy to reach, but what I preach all the time is hard work, determination, and discipline,” she says. “They are key ingredients to do what needs to be done to overcome challenges.
Dr. Espinosa’s story is not only inspiring, but it’s one many immigrant women can relate to. In fact, her experience as an immigrant “going through the whole process of language adaptation and acculturation” was the impetus for L.O.V.E., which has served over 3,000 students in 35 separate public schools across N.Y.C. in the last decade.
Our conversation left me feeling inspired and motivated — and I know you’ll feel the same way too. Keep reading for our candid chat on Dr. Espinosa’s goals for L.O.V.E., how the nonprofit has positively impacted young Latinas’ lives, and more.
This interview was edited and condensed for length and clarity.
Grace Gavilanes: Tell me about what inspired you to start L.O.V.E. Mentoring.
Dr. Claudia Espinosa: The moment that changed everything was when I started working for a nonprofit in 2009. That nonprofit had different programs, but one was a suicide prevention program, and it still is located in Brooklyn. I was an intake counselor, so my job was to interview girls referred to the program that came from hospitals because they had depression or suicidal ideations. My job was to, on a daily basis, interview girls referred by social workers, and learning from them directly about why they tried to commit suicide. They were all young Latinas. I had no idea about this. These girls were going through adolescence, but they felt hopeless, and they felt that it was going to be impossible for them to adapt and go through the whole immigrant process. And so the only way out was to take their lives.
After I left the suicide prevention program, I started working at a mentoring organization. So I started learning about mentoring, and in 2011, this goal of creating a pilot program was born. I got a lot of support from different departments and faculty at NYU, where I was studying at the time, and I launched a pilot program in the spring of 2012. I was mentoring students from a local high school in the Lower East Side and pairing them with college students from NYU. That was the beginning. It's been 12 years now since that pilot program. I got a degree in nonprofit management that helped me to create my own nonprofit, which was the goal from the beginning. It started as an after-school mentoring program.
Today, L.O.V.E. is a health class that is implemented during school hours. I wanted to reach more students in a more sustainable way. My goal now is for the class to become a required class. I'm working to make the program a class because the constant feedback we get from students is “the education we get from L.O.V.E. is the education we want.”
If you can say anything about me, it is that I believe that education is a pillar. I am a firm believer in education. Education is not my job, it's my life.
GG: You're practicing what you're preaching. How many schools is L.O.V.E. in right now?
CE: L.O.V.E. has continuously grown. We have 23 programs across N.Y.C. Our partner schools keep requesting for us to teach more of our classes because they see the positive influence it has on young women’s self-esteem and confidence. As such, we will continue to work to expand our program in more schools and serve many more young women.
GG: Is there a story that has resonated with you in terms of how the program has helped them?
CE: Well, we have plenty of students, but I can give you an example of a recent student. She was very shy when she started the program in ninth grade and she didn’t speak English. She was part of L.O.V.E. for all four years of high school. She was the mentee speaker for one of our galas and she gave the speech in English. When she graduated from high school, she spoke English very well. She got into Baruch College to study business. She became very outspoken and comfortable with publicly speaking. Being able to see this growth is what makes our work worthwhile.
GG: What does being Latina mean to you?
CE: Everything. One thing that I can tell you that may be different is that I started seeing myself as a Latina when I moved to N.Y.C. I grew up in Colombia so I was simply a Colombian woman. That's pretty much how I defined my identity. After I moved to N.Y.C., I don’t remember the first time I thought, “I'm Latina.” I believe my experience with L.O.V.E. and the girls gave me the foundation of my identity when I started to recognize myself in others and understand the challenges affecting my population. That was the moment when I said: “Yes, I am one of you.”
GG: What would you tell 15-year-old Claudia right now if you had the opportunity?
CE: When you asked me that question, I saw in my mind a picture of me in high school. I was very clear back then that I wanted to study psychology– and I actually studied two-and-a-half years of psychology in Colombia before I moved to N.Y.C. Then, I finished my degree in psychology in N.Y.C. But somehow life starts to show you through different experiences and paths what you really are meant to do. So, what I would say is: ‘what you may think you want to do may not be the actual thing you're going to end up doing in life’.
I’ve learned that we need to be open, patient, and flexible. We need to listen and pay attention to life’s signs, which are meant to show us the direction we need to follow. That's how I see things now. I believe in destiny. That does not mean that you just sit and wait and don't do anything. We need to set goals, create plans, and the one that works — that’s the one meant for us. I didn’t mean to move to N.Y.C., originally. I wanted to live in Europe. However, that didn't work out. That was not my destiny. My destiny was to become a New Yorker. My point is, you may think to yourself that this is the way, but then life tells you, I don’t think so. That's not the way. This is the direction where you need to go!
