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The right dose of success

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By Olivia Garcia
MÁS staff
As a UCLA grad holding onto a childhood dream to become a doctor, Rebecca Rivera found herself driving up and down California, searching for the right hospital to begin her medical training.
Driving into Bakersfield for a medical residency interview at Kern Medical Center, Rivera found herself thinking of her mother, Angelina (Rivera), as she studied the crops lining Highway 99. She was reminded of the era when her mother, then in her late teens and early 20s, moved through the Central Valley, following the seasonal crops to cut grapes and to pick cotton.
Suddenly, it made sense to work and live in Bakersfield. Suddenly, Rivera knew fate brought her here.
“Literally, I knew that day I could see myself coming to Bakersfield,” said Rivera, now a wife, mother and owner of three local businesses, the Bakersfield Center for Women’s Health; the medical practice LINN; and the newly established laser and esthetics, GLOW.
That was almost 20 years ago.
Now a husband, four children and the three businesses later, the 50-year-old obstetrician and gynecologist epitomizes the symbol of focusing on your dream and reaching it, especially for young Latinas caught between two worlds.
Rivera knows that better than anyone.
Her parents provided the foundation of hard-working ethics and celebrating her culture, but Rivera had to figure out how to navigate in an American up-and-coming world — beyond the fields of her mother and the auto laborer work that her father, Moises endured.
She overcame statistics that worked against her ability to succeed.

BEATING THE ODDS
Rivera grew up in South Central LA, an area where drive-by shootings, poverty and gang initiations were the norm.
Even harder to bear was being a victim of a crime no one would deserve.
Rivera was a young, innocent 17-year-old girl when two men kidnapped her at gunpoint a few blocks away from where she worked part time. They brutally beat her and raped her, only to take her back to the store with a plan to rob the place of money.
“I thought I was going to die that night,” Rivera said.
As she was being dragged back, her father and brother saw her and the men, who were in their 20s. They ran off, leaving her behind.
The rapists were caught about a week later and served less than five years in prison.
And the scars they left would live on for some time.
For one, the incident disillusioned Rivera. She was ready to give up on herself, her dreams.
Then, her family avoided the topic — a typical tact within the traditional Latino culture: Avoid the subject, then it goes away, or maybe, it never really happened.
“The problem in our culture (is that) we suppress it,” Rivera said. “We need to talk about it. (Because the incident was never discussed in my family), it didn’t allow me to heal as quickly as I should have.
“That was the hard part. I still had to go through shame, anger, every emotion you can imagine.”
But the turning point came.
“I finally realized that I had to move ahead with my life and do what God put me here on this earth to do,” Rivera said.
Rivera focused back on her dream. After graduating from high school, she went on to UCLA, earning her bachelor’s degree in psychobiology and a medical doctorate. In the early 1990s, she started her residency training at KMC.
By 2001, she went into private practice, with the Bakersfield Center for Women’s Health on Empire Drive off Truxtun Avenue. Her other two businesses, LINN and GLOW, would follow.
Her business partner is Dr. Elva Lopez, a friend of Rivera’s for some 28 years. The two went to undergrad and medical school together.
Lopez said she’s always admired her passion, strength and drive.
“I’ve always looked at her as big sister,” Lopez said. “And she’s a multi-tasker where she can handle several things going on the most. That’s one of the qualities I admire the most because I am single tasked.”
It’s hard to describe a typical workday for Rivera. Usually, Mondays are spent doing surgery. During the rest of the workweek, Rivera sees patients when she is not running out for the delivery of a baby or emergency surgeries.
While she is her own boss and that can allow some flexibility in her schedule, Rivera is also on call and can be needed at any given moment.
But patients can always count on her honesty, said Jan Bans, who began seeing Rivera once she was diagnosed with cancer in 2004.
“Our relationship went from colleagues on different community boards and friends to patient-doctor with the diagnosis of my cancer,” said Bans, area director external affairs for AT&T and board secretary of the Kern County Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. “I like her because she is true to what affects women. She doesn’t belittle the female aches and pains that we get. There’s a sense of understanding of being a woman and she exudes that in her practice. She is phenomenal.”
Phenomenal and more, said friend, Jay Tamsi, who is the vice chair of the Hispanic Chamber and senior formulations specialist at Dreyer’s Grand Ice Cream, Inc.
Tamsi recalls a time when Rivera spoke to a group of junior high students in Arvin. She spoke to the kids about her life, growing up in Compton and attending UCLA. At the end of her speaking session, a group of girls approached Rivera. They were inspired by her strength and devotion and they wanted to know more. But she had to leave, pending patient appointments.
That would not be the end of the meeting with Rivera.
The following week, she picked the Arvin students up and treated them to California Pizza Kitchen to further their conversation and answer their questions.
Incidents like that are pretty common, Tamsi said.
“She is one of the most kind-hearted and down-to-earth people you will ever get to meet,” Tamsi said. “We have worked on many projects and fundraisers in the community; she is always willing to help others.
“I admire her for so many reasons, but most of all, for overcoming hardships and triumphs. I love her dearly.”

MOVING ON
Healing from one hardship, the assault, would come over time.
And Rivera would also learn that she was not alone, discovering incidents of abuse and molestation within her own family.
“These young women and men have lived alone in silence with this pain,” Rivera said. “This tragedy could have been dealt with many years ago if we all had the courage to speak up. Letting go of the shame is not easy, but as difficult as these painful times are, I am confident we will get through them.”
As part of the healing process, Rivera has turned to her family, her small circle of friends, faith and therapy. She also shares her stories with middle school students, as some know of her experience more than one could imagine.
“I remember at one speaking event, a young girl ran out in tears,” Rivera recalls. “I went out to speak to her, and she said that she had been assaulted and could never speak out about it like I did.  I assured her that when she was ready — whenever that was — she would one day be able to do the same if she chose to, with proper counseling, of course.”
Today, Rivera speaks of the incident as if the scar has lifted and has only empowered her to achieve more.
She said speaking about it is her way to help other women who have been sexually assaulted, molested and involved in domestic violence to get their lives back. 
“Stand tall, speak up, and break the cycle of living alone in silence,” is her message, she said.  “The healing process is different for everyone,” Rivera said. But, “surround yourself with people you trust. True friends will be your foundation. Don’t be afraid to seek out professionals who are experienced, empathetic, patient and caring. My counselor, Pat is an amazing woman who helps me through my journey. 
“I know firsthand that we need guidance to understand our feelings and develop the tools necessary to overcome our fears and insecurities. It is only then that we can truly begin the recovery process.”

THE BEAUTY OF IT ALL
It’s a busy weekday lunch hour in downtown Bakersfield, and as luck would have it, Rivera finds an empty parking spot right in front of her lunch place, the Spotlight Café.
You wouldn’t have known it by seeing the calmness and confidence exude from her presence, but the OB/GYN had just finished treating multiple patients (moms-to-be) before breaking away for a quick salad lunch.
She steps into the café with an in-control look typical of many doctors.
There, she talks about her success as a growing Latina businesswoman, handling multiple firms.
“We’re pretty fortunate, given the state of the economy,” she said. “We’re blessed to get to do what we enjoy doing. That’s the beauty of it.”
Becoming a doctor followed her personality.
From the time she was a little girl, Rivera was a nurturer.
As the eldest daughter in her family, Rivera helped her mother take care of her brothers and sisters.
She helped look after the children while her parents worked at a pickle sorting company and an auto laborer industry.
“It was my responsibility to keep the household in order,” Rivera recalled. “I made sure our chores were done … keeping the home clean, washing dishes and making dinner.”
Despite the extra chores set by her parents, Rivera remained in awe of them.
“Growing up, they were respectful, hard-working parents, whose work ethic was second to none,” Rivera said.  “Their priorities were always their faith and their family. My inspirations today are my children. They stimulate my interests in more ways than I could imagine and they encourage me to be a better person.”

BECOMING A FAMILY
Rivera and husband, Joshua Garza, have four children: three sons, Sterling, 15; Seth, 12; and Spencer, 9; and a daughter, Sydney, 11.
Though she has one girl, Rivera raises her kids equally.
“I am a true believer that gender equality begins at home,” she said. “As a parent, I believe it is my role to instill in my children good manners, integrity, honesty and being a good Christian. I believe children need boundaries, and this is a role I embrace. My children are keenly aware of their culture, i.e. we get together for Christmas and make tamales. They enjoy learning how to cook traditional Mexican dishes. We enjoy singing mariachi music.”
At the same time, school activities are just as important.
Mom should be credited for who they are, says 15-year-old son, Sterling.
“At school, I hear countless times how the other kids are arguing with their parents and how they are being punished for something that wasn’t their fault,” he said. “I hear this and am confused because my mom and my relationship is nothing like (this). She asks about my grades, homework, how friends are doing.”
The trust is there.
“She really cares to know everything about my day, and I don’t mind telling her,” he said. “The trust that my mother and I have is almost unbelievable to say the least. And as much as she doesn’t like to admit it, we are very close friends. When I am in theater, she goes to see me in the play, and when I am in cross-country, she goes to watch me run. Afterwards, she tells me that I did a good job, and if I tell her that I think I could have done better, she says that if I think so, then I probably could have, and then says that I will do better the next time.”
Attending Mass on Sundays is a family priority.
“God is important in my life,” she said. “I try to maintain a strong Catholic faith. I pray that I continue to grow as a Christian. I pray for strength and guidance. I know that in the darkest times in my life that God helped me through.”

MAKING IT WORK
Rivera admits she is able to accomplish so much, thanks to the help of her husband.
Although his hours will vary like hers (he is a nurse practitioner), Josh Garza strives to balance their schedule for the children.
“My wife is compassionate and enjoys helping others,” Garza said. “I know that I am married to a woman who has a big heart.
“What I love about our marriage is our companionship that is strengthened by a bond built on love, happiness and the love for our children.”
The Garzas were simply destined for each other, says close friend, family coach and Realtor Blodgie Rodriguez.
“Becky doesn’t function without Josh, and Josh doesn’t function without Becky,” Rodriguez said.
And when she is not Mom or doctor, Rivera’s a community advocate.
Rodriguez said Rivera has organized free pap smears for uninsured women in Delano and Arvin; works with Teen Prevention Projects; and participated in the Freedom from Diabetes Walk (in honor of her mother who passed away from complications of diabetes and heart disease).
“She’s just real,” Rodriguez said. “What you see is what you get. She’s truly here to give and help with the Latino community. That is where her passion is.”
Rivera said she gives back because she has been blessed.
Not only that.
It’s her mission to show other Latinas that dreams are attainable, no matter what you’ve been through.
“Our life is as great as we make it,” she said. “I’ve lived my life by the following mantra: ‘If you can dream it, if you truly believe it, you will achieve it!’
“I believe life is truly about the choices we make. If these choices are positive, then embrace them. If the choice was a poor one, then treat it as a learning experience. Over our lifetime, our choices, good or bad, determine the individuals we become.”