We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Alyoska Diaz. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Alyoska below.
Hi Alyoska, thanks for joining us today. Can you open up about a risk you’ve taken – what it was like taking that risk, why you took the risk and how it turned out?
One of the biggest risks I’ve ever taken was leaving behind my career, family, my home, and everything familiar to start a new life in the United States.
I was born and raised in Cumaná, Venezuela, and earned my dental degree from the Universidad de Carabobo in Valencia. I built a meaningful career, running my own dental clinic, providing care to underserved communities, and serving as a dentist at the Universidad de Oriente. Dentistry wasn’t just my profession; it was a deep part of my identity and a way I connected with and helped people.
When I moved to the United States, I quickly realized that my dental degree wouldn’t easily transfer. I could no longer practice the profession I loved. At first, I worked as a dental assistant to stay connected to my field, but deep down, I knew it wasn’t enough. I wanted more, I wanted to find work that felt true to who I was and would allow me to grow.
I asked myself, “What else do I know? What can I offer?” The answer was clear: I could teach my native language, Spanish. I began teaching Spanish after school in public schools and in the evenings to adults at St. Louis Community College. At the same time, I was raising my two young daughters and working to build a completely new life and career from the ground up, not to mention learning a new language.
When my daughters started school, I took a part-time Spanish teaching position at Our Lady of the Pillar Catholic School, where they attended preschool. That opportunity led me to teach at the Academy of the Sacred Heart, and eventually to my current role teaching high school Spanish full-time at Mary Institute and St. Louis Country Day School (MICDS).
In pursuit of strengthening my new career path, I also earned a Master of Arts in Teaching Spanish in the United States, an achievement that was incredibly meaningful for me both personally and professionally. It symbolized not just adapting to a new life, but thriving in it.
Today, beyond teaching, I’ve embraced a life full of unexpected adventures. I am also a soccer assistant coach, a cake decorator, and something I never imagined, a magician’s assistant after school and on weekends. My partner in life, Christopher Barker, is a professional magician based in St. Louis, Missouri, and I assist him both onstage during performances and behind the scenes with the business side of his shows.
Most importantly, I am a proud mother of two wonderful daughters who are now thriving in college, a journey that has been one of my greatest joys and motivations.
All of these roles, teacher, coach, cake decorator, magician’s assistant, and mother are part of a vibrant and fulfilling life that I could never have imagined if I hadn’t taken that leap years ago. The risk was real, but so was the reward.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
From being a dentist in Venezuela to becoming a high school Spanish teacher, soccer coach, cake decorator, and magician’s assistant, I’ve built a life full of reinvention, creativity, and connection. The magic is real when you take a chance on something new.
I’m proud of the life I’ve created, one filled with second chances, unexpected adventures, and a lot of heart. I hope my story encourages others to take risks and build the life they dream of, even if it looks completely different from what they first imagined.
We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.
Moving from Venezuela to the U.S. and starting over was a true test of resilience. I had to learn a new language, adapt to a different culture, and create a new career path as a Spanish teacher. It wasn’t easy, but the process of reinventing myself while raising two daughters showed me that with determination, anything is possible.
What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?
A big lesson I had to unlearn was the idea that success only comes in a straight line. Growing up in Venezuela, I thought you had to stick to one career path to be successful. But when I moved to the U.S. and realized I couldn’t practice dentistry anymore, I had to let go of that mindset. I learned that it’s okay to change directions, take risks, and reinvent yourself. Reinvention became my new path, and it’s been empowering to realize that sometimes, success looks completely different than you expected.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: @alyoskadiaz
- Other: [email protected]