Meet Cristal Ortiz

Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Cristal Ortiz. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Hi Cristal, really happy you were able to join us today and we’re looking forward to sharing your story and insights with our readers. Let’s start with the heart of it all – purpose. How did you find your purpose?

In high school, I always worked with an idea to please someone else or that someone ‘bigger’ would notice me. I applied to Duke hoping this great institution would notice me. This goal has changed. My goal is to make contributions without the pressure of impressing anyone “bigger”, but my beliefs and work ethic. This contribution includes good patient service, community outreach, health activism, or even maybe helping contribute to groundbreaking research (but no pressure to myself). My contribution to others will not be to impress but to support others.
This year I read a book called “Minor Feelings: An Asian American Reckoning” by Cathy Park Hong. The author labels the final section as ‘The Indebted.’ Hong explains society as a whole when defining the indebted. You are not in debt to the ‘higher status’ or someone of a race that claims to be superior. You are not in debt to someone for a job position you have worked hard to obtain. You are only indebted to yourself and your hard work.

What I am more focused on, is making sure that I am making a positive impact on the world. No, this is not a naive dream, for every action an individual partakes in creates a ripple effect that spreads throughout the rest of the world. I envision myself creating a ripple in the fight against the disparity of lack of communication in communities within the healthcare field. Especially within the Latinx community. As an individual who belongs to the Latinx community with Mexican roots and parents that are not fortunate enough to be fluent in English, I understand the struggle. The struggle of helping my family decipher medical bill expenses, letters, and even understanding something as simple as coupon discounts. It is not easy to use broken English to communicate with an English-speaking individual. It is an act of courage and intelligence that one exhibits, but it would be more efficient if a healthcare provider could respond to their patient in their mother tongue. I envision my actions in 10-20 years to create ripples of good.

Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?

I am Cristal Ortiz, I am 21 years old and I was born and raised in Sampson County, NC. I am currently a college student majoring in Neuroscience and minoring in Chemistry at Duke University.

I am mainly a college student and work as a graphic designer for my college campus student affairs department. On the side, I am a content creator and have partnerships with different brands such as Bulk Supplements and C4 Energy, I have my own brand Cristal as well as my rental subscription service known as Cristal Clothes.

Growing up, I have been inspired by my hardworking parents, and have been taught that hard work will get you where you need to be.

During high school, I would post content consistently, even though the audience was sub 10k followers on Instagram, Once I got to college, I started to take content creation as a side hustle more seriously and managed to grow my platform over the next three years. I am currently at about 120k followers as a Junior in college. I focus on clothes, working out, and just the everyday college life. It has been a trial and error situation, in which I am managing being a full-time student, working, and extracurricular events such as clubs and volunteering, but one thing is for sure, where there is a will, there is a way.

Along the way, I have picked up projects and skills that have honed my ability for future use.

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?

I think for me three areas of knowledges can overlap with locations.

Sampson County, NC (Clinton, NC)
I was born and raised in Sampson County, NC. For the first early years of my life, I lived in an area called Keener, then moved to the more “city” like part of Clinton, about a 10-minute drive down Hwy 701. Mind you, Clinton has a population of 8,037. We are a very small southern town. I am very proud to be from Clinton, and I love the people there and the hospitality that we provide. In my county, hogs outnumber people. For the year of 2022, Sampson produced 1,900,000 hogs. Sampson County has a population of 58,990 (2021). So yeah, a lot of hogs. Hog production has been shown to hurt the environment, but it is also a main economic backbone in the economy back home, but we are not talking about that today. Just know Sampson County is a place that has transformed and molded me.

Clinton High School
Clinton High School molded my perspective by acquiring knowledge, and it brought me to the idea that opportunities are out there. I had some very influential mentors during this time, who believed in me, and I know they are key to why I am here today. I am forever thankful for the education that was provided to me. I was also allowed the opportunity to get my associate’s degree as a high schooler through the Sampson Community College in my county.

Duke University
Duke has changed my life. Point blank period. There have been so many good opportunities that I have experienced here. I have been able to carry research in the field of neuroscience. As a Junior, I have felt that I have grown so much during my time here. There are just so many things, academically and experience, and just what is amazing about being a blue devil. Words can not describe it, but I am grateful to be here.

My advice on how to improve areas of knowledge is to go out and explore the world.

Alright so to wrap up, who deserves credit for helping you overcome challenges or build some of the essential skills you’ve needed?

My family and friends are the ones who help me overcome challenges needed to be successful. They are my home. They have transformed me by being reasons why I dedicate passion to pursuing my goals, but they are also my rock and my social support net, which I forever thank God for.

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