Good Vibes Only: Canutillo High alumna soars to Indiana State Senate

INDIANAPOLIS, Indiana (KVIA) — Indiana State Senator Cyndi Carrasco continues to soar outside of the Sun City. Carrasco is a native of El Paso who now lives in Indianapolis.

"When I look out the, out the window. Indiana's is pretty flat. I tell everyone here that there's nothing like an El Paso sunset with all the beautiful colors.”

Carrasco graduated from Canutillo High School in 1998. She was ranked number 8 in her graduating class. She was involved in cheerleading, speech and debate and UIL competitions, but Carrasco said academics always came first.

She initially thought she would go into a career in theater or communications but ultimately decided to pursue law. After graduating from UTEP with her bachelors degree, she earned a law degree from the Indiana University School of Law.

After moving to Indianapolis in 2003, Carrasco and her husband fell in love with the city. Both decided they would make it their forever home. Their daughter Sarah was born in Indiana; she is now 13 years old.

Carrasco said she wanted to change the world. She knew getting involved in government was the way to do so.

She was appointed to the state Ethics Commission and realized it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Carrasco was later appointed to be the Inspector General for the state of Indiana.

Carrasco took a leap of faith and left her dream job to run for county prosecutor. She lost the election but learned a valuable lesson.

“It was a tough loss because you've invested so much into it, but I focused on all of the things that I gained. I was able to spark a conversation in my community about the importance of becoming involved in politics, in government and using your voice to express what it is you want to happen in your community.”

After her campaign, she started working at the University of Indianapolis. She’s currently the vice president and general counsel. She said working in higher education was the perfect place to help change the world.

After her senator died, people started calling Carrasco, encouraging her to run to fill the vacant position. She did and won the election.

Carrasco currently represents Indiana’s 36th district in the state senate. She said she is most passionate about public safety and access to healthcare.

She said her high school self would never believe the life she’s living now.

“I never imagined that I would be living in Indiana, in this role, and having the ability to just impact the lives of people in the way that I have the awesome opportunity to do. So, you know, it goes to show that dreams can come true and that hard work really does pay off,” she added.

Carrasco hopes her story will encourage other students in El Paso to pursue their wildest dreams.

“If they have a small little flame, because we all do, burning inside of us, that says, ‘I should do this, or I would love to do this.’ Don't wait for somebody to come and tap you and say, ‘Hey, I think you could do this’, or don't wait to feel like you know the ins and outs of everything. Do it. Jump! Take a leap of faith, and you never know where you're going to land if you don't even try.”

Carrasco was named this year’s Canutillo High School Outstanding Ex and was recognized during homecoming week.

“My goodness, if I can inspire just one person to say yes, it's possible. Then I've, you know, I've, I've done what I, what I need to do," she said.

Carrasco said she regularly visits her family in El Paso and loves teaching her daughter all about the Hispanic culture.