Today’s guest is Cuquis Robledo, a Cuban-Mexican-American woman with dwarfism who is mental health counselor and EMDR Trained Therapist, a disability advocate and an award winning videographer/documentarian. In this episode, Cuquis talks about her career changes to serve a greater purpose to help others. She graduated with her BA from Duke University in 2017, her Master's of Arts in Interactive Media from Elon University in 2019 and her Master's of Science in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from the University of St. Thomas - Houston in 2022. What makes Cuquis unique though is her perspective and outlook on life as a woman with dwarfism (specifically spondyloepimetaphyseal dysplasia, also known as SEMD for short).

Cuquis had her challenges in life, but she attributes them to her uniqueness in her size to motivate her to live her life to the fullest, and inspired a majority of her career path that lead to helping others in marginalized communities in her counseling career. Her love of the creative arts (specifically videography, acting, dancing and visual arts) all played a role in the multiple careers she has had. She also is a co-chair of the Dwarf Artist Coalition, a subcommittee of the larger organization, Little People of America, where she works to promote artists with dwarfism and creates programming opportunities for artists with dwarfism to connect and share their work.

Most recently, she was the recipient of the Young Leadership Award from the Health 2.0 Conference in Las Vegas, where she was acknowledged for the work that she has done in the year she has been a mental health counselor.

Some of her most notable works include creating an interactive documentary about the effects of Hurricane Maria on Puerto Rico, creating the #CrappyCurb campaign to help lawmakers see the importance of installing accessible curb cuts in the city, and her research in utilizing her love of Latin dance as a mindful and therapeutic tool in the counseling field, specifically for people with disabilities.

But, there is also more to Cuquis than her work. In her spare time, you can see her dancing up a storm to Latin music, doing Zumba and learning Zumba choreography as a certified Zumba instructor, crocheting, baking, hiking in beautiful places, and spending quality time with her partner and family.

Links to work:Counseling: https://www.authentichealingandcounseling.com/carolina-cuquis-robledo-ms-lpc-associate

Videography work: https://www.cuquisrobledostudios.com/

Psychology Today Profile: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/therapists/carolina-cuquis-robledo-houston-tx/1025220

Research: https://www.proquest.com/openview/a1eb4d12cc0a70c352fc6bfd4a02fd17/1?pq-origsite=gscholar&cbl=18750&diss=y
Instagram: @standtallcuquis