Daniela Cintron: The Power of Big Dreams
Daniela Cintron has built the kind of career that might seem a world away from the small North Georgia community where she grew up.
But ask Daniela where her story began, and she’ll proudly tell you: Rabun County.
Daniela was born in Mexico and moved to Rabun County with her family in 1999. Her family was starting over, building a new life in a new country and a small mountain community.
Today, Daniela is a journalist, editor, author and producer. As Senior Content Manager and Editor for the Atlanta Convention & Visitors Bureau, she leads Discover Atlanta’s award-winning cross-platform and Spanish-language content strategy. She has worked on Atlanta’s FIFA World Cup international campaigns and played a role in bringing the MICHELIN Guide to the city.
Her work has appeared in the Los Angeles Times, Eater and Atlanta Magazine. She earned three Emmy Awards co-producing the docu-series Atlanta Con Sabor Latino, received the Atlanta Press Club Journalism Excellence Award and was named one of Georgia’s 50 Most Influential Latinos. In May 2026, she added another accomplishment: earning her master’s degree from Harvard University.
But Daniela’s story isn’t simply about awards, degrees or impressive job titles. It’s about dreaming big, embracing who you are, working hard and finding people willing to help you along the way.
And that is the story she hopes the next generation of young people in Rabun County will hear.
YOUR HERITAGE CAN BE YOUR SUPERPOWER
When Daniela first came to Rabun County, she was a teenager trying to find her place in a new community.
For a while, she thought fitting in meant hiding parts of her Mexican heritage. As she grew older, however, she began to see the very things that made her different as some of her greatest strengths. Today, she proudly says, “I am so grateful to be Mexican. I call it my superpower.”
Being bilingual has become another one of those superpowers. Daniela works hard to master storytelling in both English and Spanish, allowing her to connect communities, cultures and audiences in ways she believes are incredibly valuable. “Being bilingual is the most amazing superpower anyone can have,” she says.
For a young Hispanic student growing up in Rabun County today, that message matters. Speaking two languages is an asset. Understanding two cultures is an asset. Your family’s story is an asset. Your perspective is an asset. You don’t have to become someone else to become successful. You can succeed because of who you are.
SMALL TOWN. BIG DREAMS.
Growing up in Rabun County also taught Daniela something that has stayed with her throughout her career: never allow where you come from to determine how big you are allowed to dream.
She credits this community with helping build her resilience. “I had dreams and goals that scared those around me,” Daniela remembers. “I knew I could do it.”
She says her years in Rabun County taught her “the power to have scary dreams.” Those dreams eventually took her places that her younger self might never have imagined. One of them was Harvard.
Daniela initially didn’t believe earning a master’s degree—especially from one of the world’s most recognized universities—was something she could do.
IT STARTED WITH ONE CLASS.
That class introduced her to professor Sarah Kauffman, who recognized Daniela’s talent as a writer and editor and encouraged her. Daniela kept going. One class became a graduate certificate. The certificate became something bigger. Eventually, she decided to apply to graduate school.
“I didn’t think I could get a master’s and I didn’t think I could do it from one of the most prestigious schools in the world,” she says.
She proved to herself that she could. “Grad school at Harvard changed my life.”
Sometimes All It Takes Is One Person Who Believes in You. Hard work has been an important part of Daniela’s journey. But so have people.
When Daniela talks about growing up in Rabun County, she remembers the people who helped her family build a life here and the teachers and mentors who saw potential in her.
She remembers Mr. and Mrs. Hill, her first ESOL teachers, who gave her a safe place and helped her navigate a new life in the United States.
She remembers Mr. Rolando and his family, who helped create a community where local Latino families could connect and celebrate their culture.
And she remembers Mr. and Mrs. Reynolds. At one point, Daniela believed college in the United States might not be possible for her. Mr. Reynolds helped her discover another opportunity. “He didn’t give up when I had already given up,” she remembers.
Years later, after building a successful career, another teacher would encourage Daniela to see something bigger in herself—and that encouragement helped lead her toward Harvard.
There is an important lesson in those stories, not only for our children but for all of us in Rabun County.
You never know what one conversation can do. One teacher can change a student’s direction. One coach can build confidence.
One employer can provide a first opportunity. One neighbor can make an introduction. One mentor can help a young person understand that a dream that seems impossible may simply need a roadmap. Sometimes changing a young person’s future begins with four simple words: “I believe in you.”
A SEAT AT THE TABLE
That is one reason representation matters so much to Daniela. When she was growing up, she didn’t personally know a Latina who had gone to college, graduated and built a successful professional career in the United States.
She wants the next generation to have something she didn’t.
She wants them to be able to see someone who looks like them, shares their culture or grew up in a place like Rabun County and think: Maybe I can do that, too.
“I want Latinos(as) to know that it is possible,” Daniela says. “That our dreams should scare us and they are possible.”
Her message is simple: “There is a seat at the table for all of us.” That may be one of the most important messages we can share during Hispanic Heritage Month.
Celebrating Hispanic heritage isn’t only about looking back at where we come from. It’s also about looking forward to where the next generation can go.
Somewhere in Rabun County today is a child with a dream. Maybe she wants to become a journalist. Maybe he wants to become an engineer, entrepreneur, doctor, teacher, chef, artist or business owner. Maybe that child will attend Harvard. Maybe they will build their future right here in Rabun County. Maybe they will travel the world and someday come home. They may not know yet how they are going to get there. That’s okay.
Daniela didn’t have her entire path mapped out either. Opportunities came through hard work, curiosity, relationships, education and people who helped open doors along the way. That is where our community comes in.
We can celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month by celebrating culture, food, traditions and history. But we can also celebrate it by investing in the future of the Hispanic children growing up right here in Rabun County.
Encourage them. Mentor them. Show them opportunities. Help them apply for college. Offer them internships. Introduce them to someone in the career they’re interested in. Tell them about scholarships. Invite them into rooms where they can learn.
And most importantly, remind them that their dreams belong in those rooms, too.
LET THE MOUNTAINS PROPEL YOU
Despite everything Daniela has accomplished and everywhere her career has taken her, Rabun County remains home. She still returns to these mountains to visit her parents. She still tells people around the world that she is from Rabun.
And when asked what she would tell the next generation growing up here, Daniela offered perhaps the perfect message, “The mountains are there to inspire you and nurture that with you, never to stop you. Dream so big, and go out to the world to give it a shot.”
She says the mountains will always be here when it’s time to come home and reconnect. But they aren’t here to hold our children back. They’re here to propel them forward.
So, to the young Hispanic boys and girls growing up in Rabun County:
Be proud of your culture. Be proud of your family. Be proud of your language. Be proud of this little mountain community you call home. Work hard. Ask questions. Find mentors. Take opportunities. And don’t be afraid of a dream simply because it feels too big.
You can come from a small town and have big dreams.
Daniela Cintron did. From Mexico to Rabun County. From Rabun County to Atlanta. From Emmy Awards to Harvard. And she’s not finished yet.
Dream bigger than the mountains. Then let them propel you.
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