Facing Your Fears_LatinasOnThePlaza_09Newsletter_Nov2022

The day was beautiful in
Virginia, and my team
needed to hoist the
smallest and lightest person up
the tall Oak tree, 50 -75 feet up
to capture the flag. Everyone
turned and looked at me, as I
tried not to make eye contact.
But suddenly the Instructor was
attaching a harness to my body,
and placing a hard hat on my
head, and then the entire team
was pulling the rope hoisting
me up that giant tree. I do recall
saying “but I am afraid of
heights” but the instructor
responded “you can not fall you
have a harness on so we won’t
let you get hurt”. So I did it,
and that was pretty much the
end of my fear of heights. I have
since done High Ropes and Zip
Lines. I am not crazy to jump
out of an airplane, but I have led
groups of kids and girls to
conquer their fears on the
ropes. I say to them you won’t
fall, you have a harness on.
I think you may like the story of
John Madden, football coach
and broadcaster, who had a fear
of flying. Madden had a
coaching career that spanned
1969 through 1978 in which
he flew. Later as a broadcaster,
he experienced a panic attack
on a flight in 1979, he never
flew again. He traveled by train
and a luxury bus for the rest of
his career. Now, you can
calculate how many hours it
cost him to live that way. He
openly confessed that his fear
was driven by claustrophobia,
not a trauma he personally
experienced on a plane. On a
positive note, he explained that
being on a bus allowed him to

see parts of the country he
would never have seen if he just
went from the airport to the
hotel to the games and vice
versa.
I met a young executive who
had the same fear and so when
he was required to be in Ohio
for training every month, he
would travel by car, bus, and
train sometimes. It was not
until the end of a six-month
program we were in together
that he finally flew in and shared
his fear with the class.
According to Google, Fear is
an unpleasant feeling
triggered by the perception of
danger, real or imagined. We
all have fears, say spiders,
swimming in the ocean,
haunted houses, etc., etc., etc.
Some of these fears do not
really matter and do not need to
be conquered, for example: fear
of spiders doesn’t really matter
unless you are going to be on
the reality show Naked and
Afraid in a jungle filled with all
kinds of creepy crawling things.
But fears like flying, public
speaking, rejection,
embarrassment, pain,
danger, and loneliness have a
high cost. As a result, we
challenged our eleven young
women of color this fall to
tackle the most limiting fears in
their lives over thirty days.
They also had to document the
process and had to make a
presentation on the results. In
this newsletter we will present
some of the overall results but
we will share two of our girls
journeys.
What fear is holding YOU
back?

The FUERTE Fear Project
Maricarmen Rojas
Age:25
1.Tell me the title of your
FEAR project:
“Saying Good bye to the fear
of driving”.
2. Why did you choose to
address that FEAR?
Because working in real
estate you have to drive a lot,
going to realtors offices and
meeting with the clients. I
have to depend on people
taking me to places when it’s
far from home. I want to be
independent and be able to
drive anywhere I want. It's
the biggest fear I have due to
a car accident, I thought I
was never going to drive
again after a few years when I
started driving, but I never
had the courage to drive on
the expressway until today.
3. Tell me about the early
steps you took:

The first step was merging
into the expressway and
driving for three minutes
and getting out on the next
exit. This time a family
member was with me. I'm
still working on taking more
steps to reach my goal.
5. What did you learn
about yourself?
I learned that the longer I
took to face my fears the
more scared I was, I needed
to do it right away and
without thinking too much.
4. Tell me, did it get easier
or harder? Did you
encounter roadblocks?
The hardest part was before
getting into the expressway,
I was extremely nervous and
anxious. Once I was on the
expressway I felt better. The
hardest part was merging
into the expressway.

The FUERTE Fear Project
Denisse Arzate
Age:24
1.Tell me the title of your
FEAR project:
“Don’t let fear stop you from
dreaming big”.
2. Why did you choose to
address that FEAR?
Ever since I can remember I
have been a BIG Dreamer. I
had big dreams but, I was
also a dreamer
(DACE recipient) and
living those times of
uncertainty really took a toll
on me and those dreams.
Since I became a mom and
made some really drastic
changes to my life, like
quitting my banking job.
Where I always thought I
wanted to move up, to
working from home in a
completely new field with a
newborn baby on my lap.

And I also went back to
school, which I never got to
finish because I worked 9-5
at the bank to sustain myself. I
never allowed my parents to
help me pay for school
because I still had younger
siblings.
I realized I need to create
small steps and stop making
excuses for those big dreams I
once had. I realized that I used
to dream big and take a few
good steps towards those
dreams and then I started
making excuses as to why they
would never happen. That is
why I need to stop making
excuses and don’t let fear stop
me from dreaming big.
3. Tell me about the early
steps you took:
a. I stopped caring what
people thought of me and my
actions. I realized that if they
don’t agree with my dreams or
if they think they are too big.
That is an inner problem
THEY have not me.
b. I created a timeline of my
life, I wrote down all the things
I was able to accomplish
during those times I allowed
myself to dream big and didn’t
let fear stop me.
c. I also wrote down my
failures and the lessons I
learned from them.

4. Tell me, did it get easier
or harder? Did you
encounter roadblocks?
It got harder. Working on
yourself is the biggest project
you will ever work on. It’s
hard to get rid of those
excuses you have been so used
to making because life
keeps throwing you
roadblocks every time you get
excited over something.
5. What did you learn about
yourself?
I am the biggest
accomplishment I will ever
complete, and it will take time
but that is absolutely ok.
There is nothing wrong with
following your dreams even if
that's not something everyone
else expected from you.

The FUERTE Fear Project
Morelia Delgado
Age:26
1.Tell me the title of your
FEAR project: “Fitting In”.
2. Why did you choose to
address that FEAR? I chose
this fear because I knew if I
didn’t address it now, it would
caused me to possibly never
get a better position at work,
to not grow as a person and as
a wife. I also feel that I was
always trying to please
everyone except myself. I was
frightened to speak up when I
knew I had great ideas.
3. Tell me about the early
steps you took:
I first cried, ha-ha. My early
steps were letting
my mental therapist know of
what I was holding inside. I
started being the first one
checking up on my work team.

4. Tell me, did it get easier
or harder? Did you
encounter roadblocks? It
got easier to
understand that everyone has
been through a journey of
sometimes not feeling part of
a team, or valued. At first, I
was lost and felt I needed to
vent and talk to someone. I
ended up talking to a mental
therapist, motivated me to
push forward. I felt good after
talking to my mentor and Luz
that it all started when I was
young, childhood trauma. I
was able to speak up and
create ideas in my workplace
too. I was able to talk to high
school students that felt the
same way as I. I did encounter
roadblocks, actually a lot. I
gave up for a week when my
brother got into a horrible car
accident. I encountered
roadblocks when some family
members do not see what you
are doing to better yourself.
5. What did you learn about
yourself?
I learned that I have a lot of
things I need to work
on and let loose. I need to
focus on helping myself first,
and then on others. I learned
that mental therapy actually
works.

Genesis Padilla
1. Why did you choose
Little Arrows Program?
Because her grandma is the
leader and recruited her.
2. Why do you continue
to bring your daughter
back each year?
She enjoys being with friends her
age and growing up with them as
they also grow older and graduate
onto the next level of Little
Arrows. She loves to explore her
strengths, values, and learn more
about her culture. She likes the
hands-on events and activities
like high ropes, and teas, and
escape rooms.
3.What would you say is
the biggest impact to her
from the Little Arrows
Program?
She has been given an
opportunity to use her voice at
the fundraiser and try to get
others to donate and support as
the program has grown. She has
connected with the other girls in
her cohort and looks forward to
seeing them each month that
Little Arrows is in session. She
has even brought along a friend
from outside into Little Arrows.
She has gotten early leadership
skills practice and practiced her
social emotional learning skills as
well, in growing her friendships
outside of school.

Grace Shepherd
1. Why did you choose
Little Arrows Program?
I chose the Little Arrows
Program for my daughter because
I knew she would learn new skills
that could help her to be more
confident and outspoken. I also
liked that she would be learning
the ROAR curriculum and get
educated against sexual abuse. I
don’t think my daughter can
learn what she is learning at Little
Arrows anywhere else.
activities and experiences she has
had in Little Arrows. She loves
going to the meetings and looks
forward to the activities.
3.What would you say is
the biggest impact to her
from the Little Arrows
Program.
I think Grace has absorbed and
benefitted from the Little Arrows
curriculum. She has become part
of a group of little girls that are
learning in a great environment.
2. Why do you continue to
bring your daughter back
each year?
I have seen my daughter grow
year by year because of the

CIBC’s Latinas on the
Plaza Sponsorship
Spotlight
At CIBC, we strive to build
trusting and enduring
relationships by putting
our clients at the center of
all we do. Headquartered
in Chicago and backed by a
155-year-old Toronto-based,
global financial institution,
we provide tailored
commercial, wealth
management, personal,
and small business
financial solutions to
US clients.
Our bank is especially
different when it comes to
personal banking and small
business lending. We have
a team dedicated to the
various communities
across Chicago, and offer
products specifically
designed to address the
changing needs of its
residents. Our Relationship
Managers work directly
with clients to provide
insightful expert advice,
flexible borrowing options
and longer repayment
terms, and work closely
with organizations that
provide training to
entrepreneurs, advising
small business owners on
financial matters of all
kinds—all while using our
values to guide our
decisions, actions and
interactions.

We also strive to
understand the unique
goals of our CIBC
colleagues, and take pride
in helping them achieve
their ambitions—both
personally and on a
professional level. When
Nenci Rodriguez, senior
mortgage banker for CIBC
Bank USA, introduced us to
Latinas on the Plaza, we
knew we wanted to help
however we could. From
an alumnus of Latinas on
the Plaza’s Leadership and
Philanthropy program
(now known as the ArcHER
Program) to a current
member of their Board of
Directors, Nenci has come
full circle. In addition to
educating dozens of
women on the homebuying
process and mortgage
financing, she has
advocated for and
empowered Latinas and
women of color for more
than five years through her
partnership with the
organization.
At CIBC, creating a diverse
and inclusive culture is
something that is
embedded in who we are.
For more than a century,
we have been creating a
culture that includes all of
our people, and we take
pride in our ability to
create a workplace where
everyone can succeed. But,
that commitment goes

beyond the doors of CIBC,
and this is one reason our
sponsorship of Latinas on
the Plaza is so important to
us. Our contributions to
the organization will help
provide education to girls
(starting at age 5) and
women of color, and we
believe knowledge is a key
to building secure futures
and strong communities.
We are proud to partner
with mission-driven
organizations, like Latinas
on the Plaza, who work so
hard to build our
communities through
educational programs that
encourage, empower and
transform the lives of
others.
All loans subject to credit
approval. The CIBC logo is
a registered trademark of
CIBC, used under license.
Member FDIC and Equal
Housing Lender.