In this episode of Here’s To You, we sit down with Miss ICT USA 2023 and City Girls Liquor owner, Michele Valadez, for a conversation that’s equal parts inspiring, chaotic, and painfully real.

We talk about what it actually takes to build something from the ground up — from navigating pageantry and entrepreneurship to standing your ground in rooms where you’re the youngest, the only woman, or both.

Michele shares the lessons no one glamorizes: learning to confront people twice your age, trusting your instincts, and surviving moments that feel straight out of a movie (including a man punching her windshield in broad daylight).

This episode is a reminder that success isn’t always titles and trophies — sometimes it’s resilience, boundaries, and showing up anyway.

🥃 Pour a Watermelon Paloma and cheers to the messy middle!

Ingredients:

• 2 oz tequila (blanco or reposado — her choice)

• 3 oz watermelon juice

• 2 oz grapefruit juice

• 0.75 oz lime juice

• 0.5 oz simple syrup (optional depending on sweetness of your watermelon)

Top with ~6–7 oz sparkling water (grapefruit or plain)