Heydi C!

Boricua de Pura Cepa. Policy Aficionado. Mentoring Extraordinaire. Full-blown Star Wars Nerd. Phenomenally Latina. 

Starting at 240 lbs in 2016, I was given catastrophic health news which catapulted me into the fitness world. Prior to this, you couldn’t find me in a gym. I stayed away, any physical activity literally made me want to run (well really walk) for the hills. It was a pretty rough time in my life. I was at my heaviest but had absolutely no concern for my health and well being. For the past two years, I have been working with two fitness trainers that have helped me shape my views on fitness and wellness. I started going to the gym, extremely shy at first, however as time went on, my way of looking at this landscape changed. I began to see changes and FEEL different… that’s when I was all in-completely submerged in bettering myself and getting to my first goal: getting out of the 200s… I’m 10 lbs away. I’ve had my setbacks like fracturing an ankle in the summer, loss of motivation and sentiments about quitting but I was always reminded of how far I’ve come and my goals by my friends, trainers and those pesky but very effective progress pictures. 

I was born in Puerto Rico but moved to the Indiana in 1997.  I’ve spent my entire life in Indiana except for a short stint in Washington D.C. While I was in D.C., I worked in Congress, learned how to better be advocate for myself and my community, and I even met President Obama ( yeaaaa, be jealous!) I am a two-time graduate from Indiana University Bloomington and hold a Master’s in Public Health concentrating in Behavioral, Social and Community Health. Currently, I am a Medicaid Policy Trainer for Anthem in Indianapolis, Indiana. I stand for social justice, equality and equity. I stand up for those who don’t have a voice or are too afraid to use their voice. I believe in balance and I believe in others even when they don’t believe in themselves. How did I get to this mindset? By finding my own self-worth and growing in self-love. Finding my voice in the fitness world has helped me get here. I have my own goals; I am not striving to be like anyone else. 

My passion and purpose lies in mentoring and empowerment. I am currently working on an organization/business venture targeting young Latina women in the Indianapolis metropolitan area. I want to provide the support and resources that I never received during my adolescent and college years…a space where these young women feel empowered to enter spaces and take on opportunities that may have seem unobtainable. Basically, trying to thrive in the world when all its expecting me to do is fail.