Teresa Trejo has dreamed of pursuing a career in the medical field for as long as she can remember. What she did not know back then, however, is that she would go on to pursue not one, but multiple careers within the healthcare industry. Teresa is currently a registered travel nurse, a certified esthetic nurse and a network marketing agent for her own cosmetics brand.
Teresa’s goal of pursuing travel nursing stemmed from her long-standing passion for traveling and exploring new cities. Through her career, she has received the opportunity to visit many different countries, making long-lasting connections around the world. Teresa did, however, experience a series of challenges that came from occupying the role of a travel nurse, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.
“COVID was a challenge,” Teresa says. “I was working as a travel nurse at the time but working hard to jumpstart my career in esthetics. I had to put that and my business on hold to go work the frontlines and provide COVID relief. Since I was a travel nurse, I was getting a series of text messages and emails to go work for people across the country, which was a big challenge because I had to put something I loved so much on hold to help work the frontlines.”
Through connections within the travel nursing community, Teresa discovered a passion for esthetics and helping other women improve their confidence through skincare, haircare and anti-aging techniques.
“Getting into the world of esthetics was hard,” Teresa says. “You have to try to get your foot in the door any way you can, and I just kept trying.”
She gives this advice to other women seeking to pursue a career in esthetic nursing: “If you want it, go seek mentorship, get certified [and] invest in courses. That’s what I did; I just kept trying. And it took some time, but I finally got in it.”
Teresa makes use of her entrepreneurial skills in the multiple roles she occupies. As an esthetician, she has begun selling her own line of cosmetics by creating content on Instagram and Youtube, as well using network marketing techniques to teach other entrepreneurs to do the same. Through her media channels, she shares beauty and wellness tricks and repeatedly showcases herself using her cosmetics brand to assure viewers of the quality of the products.
“It’s now part of my business and my brand to show people the knowledge I have in these cosmetics in order for them to trust and feel comfortable with me,” Teresa says. “I’ve learned through content creation that Instagram is currently focused solely on network marketing, and in every video or reel you post, you have to try to grab the viewer’s attention within the first three seconds. It’s a lot of work, but I am trying to keep working on it and being consistent so I can get new ideas for my page.”
Teresa is an inspiration to many as a successful Latina woman occupying a series of important roles. She is thankful to be a representative for the Latinx community and for the opportunity to be a role model to other Latina women who dream of pursuing careers in the same fields.
“I want to show leadership and show people that whatever goal or dream they have, it’s possible,” Teresa says. “We don’t have to be stay-at-home moms taking care of multiple kids, not having our own income and being reliant on a spouse. That’s a traditional view of our culture and I wanted to break that so that other women feel inspired to do the same.”
Regarding her future career goals, Teresa aims to continue to inspire and empower women through esthetics.
“I want to continue helping to inspire women because we all struggle with some form of insecurity,” Teresa says. “I want to help women get over these anxieties and insecurities because ultimately we all feel them.”
To Teresa, “she can be both” means she can be a master of all traits.
“It means I can be a businesswoman, I can throw on some scrubs and bring you back to life and I can also empower you and make you feel beautiful from the inside out,” Teresa says.
To keep up with Teresa’s journey, follow her Instagram @latinurseteresa and subscribe to her Youtube channel Latin Nurse Teresa.
