PHOTO BY SPENSER HASAK
Lilian Romero is the chief program officer with LEO.
By GAYLA CAWLEY
LYNN — Lilian Romero has traveled far to get where she’s at.
The Peabody resident and chief program officer with Lynn Economic Opportunity Inc. (LEO) moved to Boston from Guatemala in 1989.
At the time, her parents had divorced, prompting her mother and sister to move to the U.S., where her mother’s family lived.
Romero, who arrived with a Green Card, was hesitant to move. Her English was limited and she wanted to finish high school in her home country. It took her a year and a half to join her mother and sister. She came over to experience a harsh winter for the first time in her life.
“It was a cultural shock,” she said.
Romero said she also resisted the move because Guatemala was all she knew. But after arriving in Boston, she landed a job as a receptionist at the Metropolitan Boston Housing Partnership, where she was forced to learn English. She was on staff for 17 years and was promoted to manager of the Inspection Department. Upon leaving, she held the position of assistant director for the Section 8 program.
When Romero began working in the U.S., she struggled with the English language.
“It’s something that all immigrants struggle with,” she said. “It took quite awhile when I didn’t think in Spanish.”
Romero moved to Peabody more than two years ago to be closer to work. Prior to joining LEO last year, she also worked with the Department of Transitional Assistance for nearly a decade as the North Shore’s regional director.
At LEO, her goal was to do more outreach with the immigrant population in Lynn.
“I like working with the immigrant population in general,” she said.
To get to where she is now, Romero graduated from Northeastern University with a business management degree. College was something she initially had to put off, while she was learning the language. She had hoped to become a speech pathologist. Before Northeastern, she attended Emerson College after transferring from community college, before realizing that she wanted to do more with her career.
One of the things she remembers is she didn’t consider how long it would take to graduate. Romero said she took school one semester at a time, attending part-time before becoming a full-time student.
While her father died in February, giving her less reason to visit Guatemala, she still considers it her home. She said the secret to success is perseverance. For instance, she grew up in an era of turmoil in Guatemala, as the country was in the midst of a civil war.
“Once you have a goal, being able to accomplish your goal, no matter how hard it is to reach, is something that I learned with my upbringing in Guatemala,” Romero said. “My mother always taught us to care for people in need and be appreciative for what you have.”
Gayla Cawley can be reached at [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter @GaylaCawley.