“I’ve always thought of myself as someone who’s shy and nervous,” says Lupita, a Deseret Industries associate. “But then I look at everything I’ve been through, and I think I’m brave [and] strong, and I want to keep fighting and give my son as much love as I can.”

 

Lupita came to Utah in 2008 excited for new opportunities, but life didn’t turn out like she expected. She got married in 2010, was diagnosed with cancer in 2014, and went through a divorce in 2016 after her marriage fell apart. Her former husband left her and their six-year-old son to go back to Mexico, and Lupita was worried about how she was going to provide for her son. It was difficult for Lupita to find work because of some mobility restrictions caused by a surgery to remove cancer-infected bones from her leg and knee. 

 

“DI accepted me, even with my condition, and I am very grateful,” says Lupita. She gets to work while her son is in school, she studies English for an hour every day at work, and once a week some Church-service missionaries come to her house to help her practice speaking English. She’d like to have her own restaurant someday, so DI helped her get a license, and she sells food out of her home to get started.  

 

Although the last 10 years have been hard, Lupita wouldn’t change anything she’s been through. She says, “Thanks to everything I’ve lived, I’ve learned.”