About the woman behind ROI
Long before Roots of Immokalee was an idea, Maria Plata spent her free time reading about people from various cultures. She loved learning about people’s stories of resilience and adventure, especially when she traveled with her parents who were farmworkers. While she found news stories and books written about others, she hardly found any positive stories of those in her hometown, Immokalee. Maria realized that very few people knew about Immokalee outside of the few articles written about the town regarding immigration, farmworker conditions, and the lack of resources. While these issues are important to address, they don’t show all aspects that make up a person.
Maria defines herself by her passions. As a first generation Mexican American, her motivation has been her parent’s strong example of pursuing and working towards a better future. Her love for education and learning about others led her to earn a bachelor’s in communication from Florida Gulf Coast University with a minor in anthropology, the study of humans. She took a risk and started teaching abroad upon graduation. Her parent’s example of leaving their home in Mexico for a better opportunity was her guide. She began her teaching career in Thailand and was immersed into a culture of visits to the temple, Buddhist celebrations, and a land full of smiles. She continued her adventure to the Caribbean island of the Dominican Republic and fell in love with the various ways to cook plantains, Bachata, and the knowledge that life is to be enjoyed daily. While she envisioned living somewhere with cooler weather, her latest teaching position found her in the sweltering deserts of Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates exploring what was only unknown to her.
Upon returning home, she continued to work in education and realized she could use her creative talents to highlight the individuals of her hometown. She began at a local nonprofit, highlighting student's achievements through a marketing and social media role. This eventually led to Roots of Immokalee, a storytelling blog. Roots of Immokalee was an idea that came to her a year before she started. The fear of taking on such a feat of documenting the stories of those in her town scared her, but then a global pandemic happened. Unemployed and looking for any opportunity to serve the community, Maria realized it was meant to start her storytelling platform. She hopes to see more Latino representation across creative media.
Maria defines herself by her passions. As a first generation Mexican American, her motivation has been her parent’s strong example of pursuing and working towards a better future. Her love for education and learning about others led her to earn a bachelor’s in communication from Florida Gulf Coast University with a minor in anthropology, the study of humans. She took a risk and started teaching abroad upon graduation. Her parent’s example of leaving their home in Mexico for a better opportunity was her guide. She began her teaching career in Thailand and was immersed into a culture of visits to the temple, Buddhist celebrations, and a land full of smiles. She continued her adventure to the Caribbean island of the Dominican Republic and fell in love with the various ways to cook plantains, Bachata, and the knowledge that life is to be enjoyed daily. While she envisioned living somewhere with cooler weather, her latest teaching position found her in the sweltering deserts of Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates exploring what was only unknown to her.
Upon returning home, she continued to work in education and realized she could use her creative talents to highlight the individuals of her hometown. She began at a local nonprofit, highlighting student's achievements through a marketing and social media role. This eventually led to Roots of Immokalee, a storytelling blog. Roots of Immokalee was an idea that came to her a year before she started. The fear of taking on such a feat of documenting the stories of those in her town scared her, but then a global pandemic happened. Unemployed and looking for any opportunity to serve the community, Maria realized it was meant to start her storytelling platform. She hopes to see more Latino representation across creative media.
