Welcome to SOLV Energy's Cultural Corner! As a way to illuminate our DEI path, we have introduced a new series highlighting diverse perspectives on career and life featuring members of our SOLV Energy team. Cultural Corner will build awareness and encourage appreciation for our variant cultural backgrounds!

Tell me about yourself. Who are you? Where did you grow up? How do you identify? My name is Kristina, I was born and raised in Southern California! I identify as a ‘melting pot’ because my mom is German/Mexican American, and my dad was Guatemalan.

What do you value most? I value loyalty and respect, from a familial and personal standpoint.

What were you told as a child that you still believe today? I had a pretty interesting childhood, good and bad but there’s nothing I’ve been able to recollect that I was told as a child that I believe now.

How does your cultural heritage influence who you are? It has taught me not to judge a book by its cover, especially because I don’t “look” German, Guatemalan, or Mexican.

What family traditions or superstitions do you have? We don’t necessarily have many traditions anymore, but my grandma regularly makes many German dishes that I hope to be able to pass down.

What cultural similarities and differences do you have with your closest co-workers? I haven’t done enough legwork to get familiar with cultural similarities and differences, but that will be part of my personal goals for the new year. We always “talk shop” or about each other’s weekends but never about cultural backgrounds and traditions, but I’d like to learn.

Please share something that you’d like everyone at SOLV to know about your cultural heritage. Any combination of cultures is possible, but just because someone doesn’t “look” the part, doesn’t make them any less authentic.

Who is the woman that has had the greatest influence on your career and why? One of the women who has influenced my career and motivated me to be “extra” in the workplace, is Kris Jenner. She started her corporate career in her late 30's, early 40's and has since, built an empire of stability for herself and her family. I graduated college at 29 and started my corporate career at 30. I used to have some self-doubt on being successful, starting my career “late” by society's standards. I have changed that mindset by reminding myself that success can come at any stage in life. Her energy highlights how she values her career, family and her friends, and that’s something I continue to channel in my life each day.