Claudia De Avila “Ya yo tomé la decisión.” That is what Claudia De Avila said when her moment to become a politician finally came, and her husband was disapproving of it; she, however, made her decision a long time ago. In this episode of Learn from Leaders, I sit down with Claudia De Avila, Member of the Permanent Commission of EUROLAT, as well as a Member of the European Union-Central America Joint Parliamentary Commission. She has had to endure a long battle of being turned aside or limited by her society, yet she nevertheless surpassed all previous expectations that they placed on her. Since a young age, she recounts the trajectory of her mission and her character for being a bit of a rule-breaker, not entirely conforming to classes or social standards. While aspiring to study communication, her father disapproved of that field, and she became a teacher and social worker. With a loving and helping hand, she proved to excel in her job for 28 years, and when a party leader allowed her to run for a position as a deputy and she took it. She spent her time waking up as early as 3 a.m. to balance both her job as a teacher and as a politician. Now she is doing what she loves with her trajectory aiming always higher, unwavering to rules, norms, or anyone telling her no. “Un poquito de hambre y un poquito de frio no le hace mal a nadie”