Check Out Hazel Ortega

Today we’d like to introduce you to Hazel Ortega.

What can you tell us about your story?
Growing up near Echo Park in Los Angeles County – the neighborhood was poor and dangerous. Sharing the streets with violent gangs, I was only 12 when my friend was killed. My parents separated with each spending decades in prison. Many times, I was left to care for my younger siblings in a one-bedroom apartment. When I was 19, I was kicked out of the apartment and found myself looking for a place to live and in despair to survive.  As always, my focus was on survival. But I would often find myself dreaming of a better life, I just didn’t know how to get out of where I was.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
In high school, I was assigned to work in the Los Angeles court system, when my boss – who was a female judge, encouraged me to complete my education and earn my High School Diploma so I could graduate with the rest of my friends. Unfortunately, I was not able to make up the lost credits in time. When I was 30, over 10 years after I left High School, I was back at the counselor’s office – and a group of people came with balloons and my diploma. This was the first step that led me to where I am today. I always refer to my boss as my Pushy Angel – she saw something in me that I didn’t see at the time, and through mentoring and pushing me – she helped me visualize and create a better future for myself. Later, I worked as a Paralegal Secretary, and my boss kept pushing me to always do better –  I enrolled in college and when I received my Master’s in Educational Psychology, he was there in the audience cheering me on.

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
Seeing that I can create my future, but also that I was able to help others who have trouble navigating the system and have someone to listen to them – I started Ortega Counseling Center and have started multiple businesses since. It is also because of the people in my life whom I call my Pushy Angels, that I was motivated to start High Tide Global – a non-profit that focuses on making education accessible, and through our Superhero program for children, empowering them to create a better future for themselves. Education and children are my passion, and I believe we will be able to lift humanity for the better by providing this opportunity.

Can you talk to us a bit about happiness and what makes you happy?
To help others, following my passion of being able to bring programs to school that will empower students at a young age, and ensure that education is accessible. Especially when I see that my work and my speeches inspire others to become Pushy Angels and help. Knowing I can influence someone in my network to do good, that with each person I encourage to help others – we become a network of Pushy Angels. That makes me happy, and this is what drives me to keep going.

Contact Information:

• Website: Hightideglobal.org

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