{"id":163445,"date":"2020-10-07T11:13:40","date_gmt":"2020-10-07T18:13:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/?p=163445"},"modified":"2020-10-14T10:15:31","modified_gmt":"2020-10-14T17:15:31","slug":"gaby-delgadillo-sarabia-why-i-vote","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/our-people\/gaby-delgadillo-sarabia-why-i-vote","title":{"rendered":"Gaby Delgadillo Sarabia: Why I Vote"},"content":{"rendered":"

As part of our\u00a0Gear Up to Vote<\/a> effort, we asked our employees, members and partner organizations to share what motivates them to vote. This Why I Vote perspective reflects the opinion of Gaby Delgadillo Sarabia, REI Executive Assistant.<\/em><\/p>\n

I was born in Mexico in 1984 and was brought to the U.S. illegally at the age of 2. I attended elementary school, middle school and high school as an undocumented immigrant, and when I graduated high school, I remember feeling helpless. I could not make an impact and I envied others\u2019 privilege to vote. Quietly, I felt excluded in the country I grew up in.<\/p>\n

It was a long road, but I became a U.S. citizen when I was 28 and my first thought was, \u201cI finally have the privilege to vote and make an impact.\u201d It is not just a right to vote, it is a privilege, and I will vote to make an impact (as small as it may be) in November.<\/p>\n

I vote for inclusion. I vote for my niece who is 1 year old and her future. I vote for my past life as an undocumented immigrant. I vote for my family members who were also undocumented immigrants. I vote because it is a privilege of which I am tremendously proud. I will vote.<\/p>\n<\/span>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As part of our\u00a0Gear Up to Vote effort, we asked our employees, members and partner organizations to share what motivates them to vote. This Why I Vote perspective reflects the opinion of Gaby Delgadillo Sarabia, REI Executive Assistant. I was born in Mexico in 1984 and was brought to the U.S. illegally at the age […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5350,"featured_media":163449,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1463],"tags":[1486,2033],"internal-tag":[],"class_list":["post-163445","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-our-people","tag-staff-stories","tag-why-i-vote"],"parsely":{"version":"1.1.0","canonical_url":"https:\/\/rei.com\/blog\/our-people\/gaby-delgadillo-sarabia-why-i-vote","smart_links":{"inbound":0,"outbound":0},"traffic_boost_suggestions_count":0,"meta":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","headline":"Gaby Delgadillo Sarabia: Why I Vote","url":"http:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/our-people\/gaby-delgadillo-sarabia-why-i-vote","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"http:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/our-people\/gaby-delgadillo-sarabia-why-i-vote"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2020\/10\/2EFCC5D6-9AAD-4C76-8318-F240DBD4E342.jpg?resize=150%2C150","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2020\/10\/2EFCC5D6-9AAD-4C76-8318-F240DBD4E342.jpg?fit=1440%2C1794"},"articleSection":"Our People","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Chrissy Szostak"}],"creator":["Chrissy Szostak"],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Uncommon Path \u2013 An REI Co-op Publication","logo":""},"keywords":["staff stories","why i vote"],"dateCreated":"2020-10-07T18:13:40Z","datePublished":"2020-10-07T18:13:40Z","dateModified":"2020-10-14T17:15:31Z"},"rendered":"