Meet Kady Hinojosa | Author
We had the good fortune of connecting with Kady Hinojosa and we’ve shared our conversation below.
Hi Kady, do you have some perspective or insight you can share with us on the question of when someone should give up versus when they should keep going?
Throughout my life, giving up has never been a consideration for me.
I ran competitively in high school and college track. When I was a junior in high school, we were at the sectional meet (the last meet that qualifies you to state). I had completed the mile and qualified to state. My next race was the two-mile and I only had about 30 minutes to rest. My mind was not on the next race. I had just qualified in the mile and was going to state already. I was tired and didn’t feel rested. Bottom line, I didn’t want to run the two-mile. But it wasn’t just about me. I was part of a team and our team had a chance to win this very difficult sectional meet. If I ran well, I could add points to our team total. I knew I had to run but I didn’t feel like it. The race consisted of running around the track eight times. When the race began, I immediately settled into the back of the pack and stayed there for the first three laps. But I realized that I was feeling better than I thought and that competitive side of me kicked in. I started to move up and by the time there were two laps remaining, I was in sixth place. The top three finishers qualified for state and earned points for the team. The runners in first and second place were too far ahead of the rest of the field. I knew I couldn’t catch them. But I felt like I could catch the third runner. With one lap to go, I was a quarter lap behind her. I started moving up and with half a lap left I was closing in on her. We were neck-and-neck at the final turn. We both started sprinting and remained side-by-side until the last ten feet or so when I edged her out and finished third. I didn’t win the race but I felt like I had. I had qualified to state, which was incredibly satisfying, but I also earned points for our team. We won the meet overall because every team member did their part.
My point is that it’s easy to keep going when you’re feeling good, leading the pack, and running a great race. It’s when you’re not feeling that great, not really into running that day, and as a result running in the middle or end of the pack, that not giving up really comes into play.
In life, like running, you have to keep going and keep moving forward, even if you don’t feel like it. The rewards at the end of the difficulty are well worth it.
Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
Born and raised in California, I always loved creative writing. However, I took a logic track in college and studied Computer Science. The bulk of my career was spent working as a Business Analyst/Quality Assurance expert (BA/QA) for financial, and other, websites.
My start wasn’t easy. After college, it took me many months to find my first job (not as a BA/QA, not even in the computer industry) but I worked whatever jobs I needed to so I could pay my bills and live on my own. After a few years, I wanted more than doing just okay. So I joined the Navy and worked as a Logistics Officer in Washington DC. I loved the job. While I wasn’t working strictly in the computer industry, I was working with computers so I was one step closer to getting where I wanted to be.
I met my husband, Jose (an Army Aviator), in Washington DC and resigned my commission when we married. We went to Japan for three years. I didn’t work at all initially. But I discovered that colleges quite often offer degrees on overseas military bases for service members and their spouses. Troy State University was one of the colleges at Yokota Air Base so our last year-and-a-half in Japan, I studied for my Master’s degree in Management and also worked there. I was the only employee, and was the registrar, ordered books, worked with the visiting professor to settle them in the quarters and assist them as needed every term. Everything in the office was manual. So while I worked there, I set up a database of the students to register them and store all data related to them (grades, etc). That system was adopted at other overseas campuses.
I always kept my hand in my field even if my job wasn’t specifically a computer job. When we moved to Texas, I was able to actively pursue the BA/QA field and spent the rest of my career doing a job I loved.
After retiring, I returned to my love of writing and wove my IT experience into my debut novel, #HuntedLives.
Never quitting and always moving forward (even if just baby steps) has been important to me and something I’ve lived throughout my life. In good times and bad, when life is easy and when it’s extremely hard, I keep moving forward. And throughout it all, I’m grateful.
Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
We live in Blanco, TX, a small town in the Hill Country. I would have my friend visit in the spring. On day 1, we would drive to San Antonio (just 45 min away) and spend the day on the beautiful Riverwalk. There are shops and restaurants there so we’d eat lunch at one of the delicious Mexican restaurants sitting at an outside table right next to the river. We would also take a boat ride to the old Pearl Brewery which has been converted to restaurants and shops. On our way back, we’d have dinner at Lupe Tortilla (our favorite Mexican restaurant located in North San Antonio). Day 2, we would return to San Antonio and have fun at Fiesta Texas and perhaps Seaworld as well. A country drive is on tap for day 3. We would drive 45 minutes west to go to Willow Loop (16 miles north of Fredericksburg). Willow Loop is a small road through ranches and has the best viewing of bluebonnets in the area. They bloom in the spring and are spectacular! We would return to Fredericksburg and walk around this quaint town. Shopping at boutiques and lunch at Burger Burger right on Main St is on tap there. On the way home, we would drive to Luckenbach and have a drink and listen to music. You can’t go to the Hill Country without stopping at Luckenbach (pop. 3)! Opportunities to see Texas longhorns cattle abound in the Hill Country so I would make sure we found some. They’re very majestic and I often wonder how they can possibly hold their heads up with those massive horns. Day 4 would be a day at home. We live on a golf course so we’d play a round, watch a movie or two, and drive to Gennaro’s Trattoria in Canyon Lake for dinner. On the final day, we’d spend time at the Blanco State Park, swimming, kayaking, and just relaxing. We’d also stop at Texas Cannon Brewing in downtown Blanco for a brewsky, a delicious meal, and maybe to watch some golf. Other options on a longer stay would include going to one of the many Saturday market days that all small towns hold. Wimberley Market Days is on the 1st Saturday of every month and is the largest (over 500 vendors) so that would be an option depending on timing of a friends’ stay. I didn’t even talk about Austin (45 min north) or the beaches that are just 2 hours away. Texas is a wonderful state with so much to offer!
The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I want to dedicate my shoutout to my husband, Jose. He is my rock and has supported me in whatever I have wanted to do in my career, the latest being writing and publishing my debut novel, #HuntedLives.
Website: www.kadyhinojosa.com
Instagram: www.instagram.com/kadyhinojosa
Facebook: www.facebook.com/KadyHinojosaAuthor
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