We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Christina Espinel a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Christina , thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Can you share a story with us from back when you were an intern or apprentice? Maybe it’s a story that illustrates an important lesson you learned or maybe it’s a just a story that makes you laugh (or cry)? Looking back at internships and apprenticeships can be interesting, because there is so much variety in people’s experiences – and often those experiences inform our own leadership style.

Nerves are normal for everyone! As a new teacher almost 13 years ago, I was meticulous about following through with a very set plan, rarely deviating even though the flow of my class may have called for it. Now, I feel confident to read the room and energy, make changes on the fly if necessary and am so familiar with the material, that I can help regain focus of my groups, immediately, if that’s what’s needed. The only thing that can help learn these seasoned tools is time and experience. Don’t be afraid to make mistakes! If you love something and want to pursue it, give it all you got, take the leap and the valuable lessons will come. Your experience and expertise will broaden but only if you get in there and go for it!

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I’m Ms. Christy! The owner/director of Little Beats Miami. We offer a Spanish immersion music program to families and little ones ages 0-5 yrs old through the wonderful Canta y Baila Conmigo curriculum and music collections. We help families present the Spanish language to their little ones in an enriching, developmentally appropriate form through culturally diverse song collections that celebrate ALL Latin cultures. I am a proud Latina myself and sharing our cultures, language and customs with future generations is what I am most proud of. Little Beats Miami cultivates a community of inclusion and diversity, ANYONE can enjoy our programs no matter what your background or ability levels are. Don’t speak Spanish? We’d love to have you in our classes too!  Music is a universal language that I’m honored to share with as many families and children as possible.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

Starting over from scratch during COVID was both humbling and complicated. Safety amongst my families is always a top priority for me and gathering safely during this time presented some challenges that we overcame, thankfully, with great success. I feel I can manage challenges in a more professional manner due to this experience. Everything can serve as an opportunity for growth and while we kept our families and littles ones safe, I will always look back with humility and gratitude for this tough period in many people’s lives, including my own.

Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?

Invest in social media management!! I cannot stress this enough. This will help you get instantly seen but a very broad audience like no other tool. A social media manager will help you get presented to your audience in the most accurate and clear way possible. It’s an investment with endless returns and worth every penny.

Contact Info:

• Website: Www.littlebeatsmiami.com
• Instagram: @littlebeatsmiami

Image Credits
Photos by @lifeoftico