The deep blue and white of El Salvador’s flag waved from the earth’s highest peak for the first time on May 11, 2022.

The woman carrying it along Mount Everest’s 29,029-foot incline was Alfa Karina Arrué.

On Oct. 5, the 47-year-old Arrué took a break from climbing peaks to deliver a presentation at the El Camino Social Justice Center as part of the Hispanic Heritage Month celebration.

During her speech, Arrué compared the literal challenges of Everest’s icy terrain to any obstacle that one might face when pursuing any goal.

“We all have an Everest to climb,” she said.

Audience member and psychology major Zahra Ali said Arrué’s message resonated with her.

“I feel lucky to have met Alfa Karina,” Ali said. “She empowered me to continue pursuing my goal of applying to transfer to a university.”

Arrué said she climbed Everest to inspire young girls and to prove that despite coming from a country with insufficient resources, the people of El Salvador aren’t limited.

Arrué trained for seven years and sought funding for her climb.

She said that once sponsors found out that the one asking for help was a woman and a Salvadoran, every door was shut. One company agreed to sponsor her, in exchange for sexual favors.

Arrué felt defeated. She cried, questioning if she’d ever reach the highest point on earth.

Arrué mortgaged her home and put it in foreclosure and funded the trip herself. She made her way to Nepal for her first climb attempt in 2021.

During this attempt, Arrué climbed 27,000 feet before the threat of avalanches prevented her from climbing any further.

Again, she cried.

She’d made it to Everest, given up all she had and defeat struck again.

Back home in El Salvador, the National Institute of Sports recognized her valiant effort, and decided to fund her next expedition.

“It was my confirmation that if you work hard, the world will compensate you,” she said.

She went back to Everest and touched down in Tukla, Nepal in March 2022.

On her way up the mountain, the temperatures reached 60 degrees Fahrenheit below 0, causing parts of her skin to fall off and her hair to break. She also had non-stop pounding headaches.

But Arrué didn’t give up.

“I sacrificed a lot of time with my children to train but they came to understand that as a mother, I don’t disappear, I am a person with dreams,” she said. “It’s [also] important to transmit that message to women.”

El Camino Senator of Fine Arts Dulce Stein said Arrué wants to inspire the El Camino community as well. Stein said Arrué asked her about being a motivational speaker in the college when they first met.

“I was happy because her story moved me, we all have mountains to climb and it doesn’t matter how big yours is, they’re all the same,” Stein said.

As a woman and a mother, it was important for Arrué to be an example. Not just for her children but for all “the young girls of El Salvador,” and beyond.

“[My mountain] was literal but you can do it, too,” Arrué said. “I invite you to climb your own Everest.”