She served for almost six years. The work was hard on her body, and the physical labor hurt her back, much of it due to her need to fit in. "Especially being a female, I think we have to kind of prove ourselves to be at the level of the guys. … I feel that I definitely had to grow a thick skin." Carolina recalls the jeering from male sailors, and the unwanted attention she received simply for being a woman. But she believed she had to endure it all.

The push to power through is common, says Dr. Pamela Fullerton, a bicultural clinical counselor with Puerto Rican and German heritage. "We see this story line in us Latinas … constantly trying to prove our worth."

100LatinaBirthdays.com

100 Latina Birthdays is an original production of LWC Studios. It is made possible by grants from Healthy Communities Foundation, Kellogg Foundation, and the Chicago Foundation for Women, the Community Memorial Foundation, and VNA Foundation. Mujeres Latinas en Acción is the series’ fiscal sponsor.

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