Reality Gap Pod

She had a plan. Law school. But while everyone around her was doing unpaid internships, Nathalia was waitressing — because that's what paying rent required. Then life happened differently. A campaign job led to City Hall. She became a director at 25. Now she's getting her MBA, not a law degree. Her plan keeps evolving — and she's still figuring it out.

Nathalia Benitez-Perez is the Director of the Mayor's Office of Civic Organizing for the City of Boston. She moved from Colombia to Spain to Boston, worked doubles at a restaurant while carrying a full course load at UMass Boston, organized campaigns across East Boston, and built programs like Block Parties, Spooky Streets, and Love Your Block — all with a team of three. In this episode, Nathalia sits down with Tom, Lorenzo, and Antonia to talk about what happens when the path that looks like falling behind actually leads somewhere meaningful. This one's for anyone who can't afford to separate the paycheck from the purpose.

Guest: Nathalia Benitez-Perez
Director, Mayor's Office of Civic Organizing, City of Boston
MBA Candidate, BU Questrom School of Business

TIMESTAMPS:
01:30 Colombia to Spain: Growing Up Between Countries
03:45 The 2008 Financial Crisis Changed Everything
05:50 Moving to the U.S.: New York, Florida, and Starting Over
08:10 Transferring to UMass Boston
12:00 The Brutal Schedule: Classes, Restaurant Doubles, and Two Days for Homework
14:30 "I Was Not Special at UMass Boston — It Was All of Us"
16:20 Why Unpaid Internships Were Impossible
18:03 Finding Purpose in Community Work
20:00 What Makes East Boston Special
22:15 Sunday Colombian Food Runs with Her Brother
24:00 Campaigns, Neighbors, and a Different Kind of Networking
25:00 "I've Always Been a Fixer" — Where That Instinct Comes From
27:30 Growing Up in a Household of Strong Women
30:00 Latina Identity, Hospitality, and Putting Others First
32:38 How Constant Moving Affected Friendships
35:00 Finding Home and Choosing to Stay in Eastie
38:00 "I Have Found My Community"
40:38 "I've Learned to Trust Myself More Than the Plan"
42:30 How to Join a Community: Talk to Your Neighbors
44:45 What the Office of Civic Organizing Actually Does
46:30 Block Parties, Spooky Streets, and Love Your Block
49:00 Law School Was Always the Plan — Until It Wasn't
51:00 Director at 25: "Pretending Not to Be Scared"
53:15 Why MBA, Not Law School: BU Questrom
55:00 Working for Mayor Wu as a Woman and Fellow Newcomer
59:00 "Instead of Forcing the River, Let the Current Carry You"

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