Why Just Empower Next Exists

I was raised in Sterling City, Texas and at that time didn't realize how much that was shaping my purpose and vision. When I was graduated college from Angelo State University, I only had one goal in my mind, to be accepted into a graduate program and become an occupational therapist. Being a first-generation student, I don't recall impossible obstacles in my journey. I recall just doing my research and problem solving how I would make my career dream come true. That's who I've always been. If I want to obtain something, I figure out what I need to do to make it happen and then I make it happen.

Well at 23, I graduated from UT Health San Antonio with my doctorate in occupational therapy and passed my national board certification, so that dream was now a reality. Great! Little did I know that a new dream was just forming. I was grateful to return home to West Texas and be back in my community, but I felt like God had other plans. After a year of practicing, I woke up one day and decided that I needed to pursue travel occupational therapy. A few calls later, I had my first travel contract in Twin Falls, Idaho (shoutout to the best people I met there). At that time, I was also earning my Master of Business Administration degree with a specialization in healthcare management. I didn't know exactly what I was going to be doing with it, but I would eventually figure it out.

As my travel OT career took off, I started noticing more and more gaps in healthcare  and education across many domains. Whether that be directly or indirectly, but the gaps were there. I started noticing that educational and healthcare resources and tools were limited, healthcare transparency issues, and among other limitations, so I started brainstorming. What can I do about it? I thought maybe I can start with a simple healthcare podcast and eventually develop more tools, resources, and whatever I figure is needed along the way. And so Just Empower Next (JEN) was founded.

Since then, JEN has grown into something that I am very proud to call a little piece of me. Through JEN, I have had the privilege to partner with some impactful organizations such as The Madrina Project based in San Antonio, Texas who trusted JEN to speak to their high school girls to help them dream bigger. I have been able to mentor current Angelo State University students.  I've had the opportunity to develop a 'Special Friends Ministry' program and equip current ministry leaders to better serve our kids with special needs. I've had the privilege to be a Keynote Speaker for a Caregiver Resource Conference and provide tangible tools and resources to remind them that "You Matter Too". Just Empower Next is just beginning its mission, I am just beginning my purpose. I truly believe that we should empower the next, and that's why we exist.

I would also like to point out the operational model we run on. We believe that there is a business model like any other organization, but also a service model. We live in a world where it may sound impossible for those to co-exist, but we believe that with the proper problem-solving, it can be done.