Three Questions for Kryshna Aviña
September 24, 2021
Kryshna Aviña joined the Lab 18 years ago supporting the Department of Energy's Yucca Mountain nuclear waste program in the Earth Sciences division. He played a key role in the proposal development for the Joint BioEnergy Research Centers, and is now senior business manager of Berkeley Lab’s Information Technologies division. Aviña is a leader in the steering committee of the Latin American and Native American (LANA) employee resource group.
He answered a few questions for Elements in celebration of Latin American Heritage Month.
Can you tell us about your family heritage and their pathway to America?
My family is from Mexico, my mother’s family from the state of Michoacán and my dad from Guadalajara, in Jalisco. My mother’s family had settled in Baja California at least since the 1930s and my father’s family settled in Tijuana when he was 11-years old. That’s where they met. At the time, they moved more freely between Mexico and the United States. My mother was a seamstress in San Diego while my dad worked for the city of Tijuana’s public works department.
My parents are a real dichotomy because they can be very Mexican-like in their approach, with a reverence for family and tradition but at the same time they were forward thinking. I mean, look at my name for crying out loud, Kryshna. They got the name from [former Beatle] George Harrison's song “My Sweet Lord”.
Is there a part of your culture you draw from to inform your work at the Lab?
The Latino-ness I draw from is the drive to persevere; the unrelenting tenacity even in the face of things going completely the opposite direction of how you want them to go, but you still move ahead because you know that it's the right thing to do.
That’s how I approach things here at the Lab: to improve things for the better, make them run more effectively but also lead people on an upward career path.
At LANA, we're taking that same approach and trying to get managers and supervisors to rethink how they staff and recruit, and developing more homegrown talent. We also try to identify people who have talent – even if their capabilities aren’t fully fleshed out – and encourage them to get the training so we can keep them here at the Lab.
I see myself as a door opener, and not just for the LANA group.
How did your parents’ experience influence your approach to life or work?
Whatever challenges I have, at the end of the day I take a step back and put things into perspective: How would my mom or dad approach this, the calm, deliberate approach that I know my dad would take, or my mom’s approach where you tell it to them straight?
My parents struggled and paid all sorts of dues and they didn’t want that for me and my siblings. Seeing the sacrifices they made at an early age, so that we wouldn't have to sacrifice, is a constant reminder that it's not always easy, but at the end of the day, there is satisfaction in knowing that you've done the best that you've can, and that you've done the right thing.
