First Generation Programming Services

Welcome back!  Can you believe it’s August already?! As we begin this new month, we begin a new theme: Redefining Success. As social workers, many of us grow up believing that success follows a very specific path. Maybe you were told that success meant becoming a doctor, lawyer, or engineer. It also meant finding the highest-paying job, buying a house, or choosing stability over everything else. These expectations often come from love. Our families sacrificed so much to create opportunities they never had, and naturally, they want us to be secure.

But what happens when the life everyone else envisions for you doesn’t align with the life you want for yourself?

Redefining Success

That’s something Sara has had to learn more than once. When she decided to become a social worker, not everyone understood that decision. There were often comments about how she wouldn’t make enough money, and how she was “too smart” to be a social worker. A lot of that was hard to hear, especially coming from her family, whose opinions she valued. This made her question her choices for a while. Was this the right path for her?  But deep down, she knew that supporting others through their mental health journeys was exactly where she was meant to be.

It was then that Sara realized that her success had nothing to do with other’s expectations. It had to do with what she felt was her purpose. Through this journey is where Sara started to build The First Gen Madrina. Taking that leap from having a regular 9 to 5 to entrepreneurship was one of the scariest and most rewarding journeys she has taken. It challenged her and made her wonder why we are felt like we have to choose between meaningful work and financial success. Why can’t we have both?

What does Success Mean to You?

Today, success looks very different for her than it did years ago. While financial stability still matters, Sara reminds us that flexibility and peace of mind are forms of wealth too. Success is being able to create a schedule that aligns with her values, supports her community, and what gets her to wake up excited about the work she’s doing.

As always, Sara reminds us that we are not alone and we can redefine what success means to us. It doesn’t have to look like what we were told it means. Success can be about your passions, your values, and the life you genuinely want to build. At the end of the day, you’re the one who has to live your life. So, give yourself permission to create a definition of success that feels authentic to you. It may not make sense to everyone else and that’s okay. The life you’re building should belong to you.

The First Gen Madrina

Meet Sara Diaz, LCSW, CFSW Founder of The First Gen Madrina

Sara Diaz is a licensed clinical social worker and first-generation Latina who founded The First Gen Madrina because she knows what it feels like to navigate a career without a map. Her path into this work began long before grad school: with the experience of feeling unseen, and later, with a Latina therapist who showed her what it looks like to be truly understood.

That experience is the heart of everything Sara does. Whether working with a social worker feeling the weight of burnout, trying to figure out what “success” even means for them, or someone quietly wondering if rest is allowed, Sara shows up as a Madrina, walking alongside her clients rather than simply advising them.

The Madrina Network
This is where community lives. The Madrina Network is a professional home for social workers who want more than just career advice. This is a space where advocacy, growth, and shared experience come together. Members find peer connection, professional development, and the kind of support that reminds them they don’t have to carry this work alone.

1:1 Career Coaching
For social workers ready to go deeper, Sara’s one-on-one coaching is built specifically for social workers who give so much to others and are learning how to advocate just as fiercely for themselves. Together, she and her clients work through burnout (because it’s systemic, not personal), career transitions, negotiation, and reclaiming a sense of purpose in a field that can ask everything of them.

For more information, visit thefirstgenmadrina.com.