Andrea Solorzano was born in Elizabeth, New Jersey, to Peruvian parents, but grew up in South Carolina.

She took a bold move and ended up in Philly ten years ago when she accepted her first job right after college. She left her friends and family behind, didn’t know anyone in Philly, but it was this decision that changed her life. 

Some of the challenges she encountered being a first-generation Peruvian-American was in part due to growing up in a Hispanic heavy community where everyone spoke mainly Spanish. It wasn’t until she was in third grade that she mastered the English language. In high school, she had to figure out the education system on her own, made important academic decisions, and had to navigate through the college application process.  

Peruvian’s in mainstream media are hardly portrayed, “people don’t even know where Peru is on the map,” she added. Growing up, there weren’t any role models whom she could look up to expect for athletes or entertainment celebrities, but she wanted to go into business and finance.  

“It is important to be aware of the lack of representation and to understand how important it is for kids to look up to people they can relate to,” she added. Andrea aspires to be a role model, to share her knowledge and experience. She wants to share every bit of what she’s learned in hopes of impacting at least one person.  

Andrea has a bachelor’s in Accounting, a Master’s in Finance, an MBA in Entrepreneurship and Management, and a PMP Certification. Education has played an important role in her life as it has created endless opportunities. Growing up, the only thing she knew for sure was that she had to go to school — that was what her parents often asked from her and her sister. They knew that education would provide more opportunities than those they had.       

Solorzano currently works for “Your Outsourced CFO” as a Financial Associate. In this role, she helps small to medium size businesses achieve their strategic objectives by playing the role of an outsourced CFO. They serve as a resource for growing businesses by providing a similar value proposition as a full time CFO, without the high cost. 

For Andrea, it was tough identifying what exactly she wanted to do with her career. She tried different jobs, but nothing felt right until she found her current role. She considers her current role to be her biggest career accomplishment as she loves the positive impact that she has with her clients. She is excited about growth opportunities within her company and sees herself working there in the long term. 

In all, Andrea hopes to make a positive impact on anyone’s life — it could be anything from making a connection, to sharing advice and continuing to help clients. 

In the future, Andrea sees herself still with her company, working with new diverse clients, and a couple more marathons under her belt. In five years, the company will have grown even more, perhaps satellite offices, and she sees herself as part of the team in charge of getting these offices off the ground.