#PerseveranciaLatina Spotlight Series: Meet Noriluz Oscuro!

In honor of Hispanic Heritage Month, we recognize the integrity and strength that characterizes the Latino community through #PerseveranciaLatina: a digital and social campaign.

#PerseveranciaLatina features uplifting stories from Intuit customers who overcame challenges and accomplished their goals as a result of their determination and perseverance.

TurboTax is proud to join this year’s celebration by elevating inspirational Latino voices that empower others to succeed despite the adversities.

Meet Noriluz Oscuro

Noriluz Oscuro is a college student who learned the importance of education and financial health at an incredibly early age and now is pursuing an accounting degree at the University of Maryland. Born in Mexico and raised in Maryland, Noriluz became a self-taught financial advisor who transformed a necessity into a career.

She grew up in a Hispanic household where both parents suffered a language barrier, adding an extra challenge to their lives. That early experience affected Noriluz’s priorities as a young girl. By watching her family’s limitations, she decided to step in as the oldest child and learn about personal finance to help manage expenses at home. YouTube videos became her ally when she had little guidance on how to write a check and save money living in a low-income household. 

“Finances, either personal or general, play such a huge role in many families, especially in Latinos that struggle with the language barrier. Many things happened to us because we didn’t know. I needed to do something about it,” said Noriluz as she shared her story with TurboTax for the #PerseveranciaLatina series.

Noriluz helped change her family’s lifestyle for good by investing her time in finding tools and resources to keep them financially stable. Her efforts to impact her household awakened her interest in continuing higher education, but the path to achieving that dream wasn’t easy. In order to take a step forward into getting an accounting degree, Noriluz faced many barriers and limitations that many young Latinos experience as they migrate to a new country, in this case  the United States.

For Noriluz, becoming an Accountant was more than a personal dream, it was her way to give back and help the Latino community understand the importance of financial health. The desire to help those struggling with language barriers like her parents motivated her to break a pattern and step out of her comfort zone, which resulted in a full-ride scholarship and grants to pursue her dream of becoming an accountant at the University of Maryland. 

Her determination led her to be the first generation of higher education students in her family. As she said, “It’s okay to be different; it’s okay to choose something that nobody in your family has done.” Today, Noriluz is on her way to graduation. She belongs to the student chapter ALPFA-UMD and has already started her career journey; pursuing an internship at KPMG and assisting small businesses to manage expenses with the help of QuickBooks.

Even though Noriluz didn’t have financial experts as role models growing up, her parents made sure to nurture her and instill the values of resilience, integrity, and perseverance. She became a role model to her family, especially her two younger siblings, who look to her for guidance. “The journey of helping my family started with helping myself first, and that was continuing higher education, following my dreams, my goals, and what I am really passionate about,” she highlighted with pride. 

When we asked Noriluz what “Perseverancia Latina” meant to her, she said it is growth. To her, that also means never giving up on your dreams. She invites new generations to stay strong and fight adversity, advising to always look back, and remember why you started in the first place.  

She shared that one of the keys to her success when managing expenses at home was budgeting. Noriluz credits Mint with helping her manage her and her family’s expenses to avoid overspending; and TurboTax for helping her understand tax implications,so that she can practice her accounting knowledge to help those around her file their taxes. 

Intuit customers like Noriluz rely on key tools to stay on track with their finances, grow their business, and file their taxes. Don’t forget to check out our Intuit products that can help you achieve your financial goals:

• TurboTax Self-Employed: helps you easily uncover tax deductions specific to your industry. If you have questions as you are filing your taxes or questions related to estimated taxes during the year, you can connect live via one-way video to a TurboTax Live Self-Employed tax expert to get your questions answered. TurboTax Live Self-Employed tax experts are available year-round in Spanish and English and can also review, sign, and file your taxes or you can fully hand them over to a TurboTaxLive expert from the comfort of your home.
• QuickBooks Self-Employed: helps you easily track your business income, expenses, mileage, and capture receipts with a snap of a picture year-round. You can then transfer your business information to your TurboTax Self-Employed tax return which makes filing your taxes a breeze.
• Mint: provides you with a more complete picture of your financial life – from what you earn to what you spend, owe, and save – to help alleviate the daily stress associated with managing your financial life.