Rotarian Mila Cochran talked about her life, career and family.
Although our Mila was born in California, she also grew up in New Mexico, Connecticut, Texas, North Carolina and Massachusetts. (Gordon was very excited to hear from someone else from Connecticut!) She has family in a variety of states with her sister, a Colorado pediatrician, and a brother in Boston, Massachusetts with her mom. She is half Puerto Rican and half Indian, and her parents met while at work. They both love to dance which is amazing since they are so serious. In 2009, Mila Cochran graduated from Babson College in Wesley Massachusetts focusing on Finance and Global Management. She started working at Wells Fargo in San Francisco. Following her parents example, she joined salsa dancing competitions. A friend convinced her to transfer to San Diego for the better weather. She fell in love with the West Coast and currently works as a Deal Manager at Teradata.
When she met her husband, she decided to plant herself here in Southern California. They meet when she went to the climbing gym alone one day after breaking up with an old boyfriend. She didn’t have a climbing partner so she used the auto-belay device allowing her to climb alone. Auto-belays create resistance and allow her to fall more slowly. He was watching her use the auto belay that allowed only had a few routes. He offered to belay with her, and she turned him down. He stayed around until she got bored with the few routes. He asked to belay with her again. She agreed, and this started their month-long climbing relationship. Finally he asked her out to a Latin Food and Wine Festival. He knew the way to her heart.
When she started dating Dave, a 2015 car accident solidified their relationship. They went to dinner and were driving in separately separate cars afterwards on the 8 Freeway. As they approached Moreno Boulevard, a drunken driver going over 90 m.p.h. plowed into Dave’s Subaru causing it to bump and skid. Then, the drunken driver smashed into Mila’s Nissan flipping it on its side across three traffic lanes and down an offramp. The Nissan ended up inches from a barrier. Dave, who was her hero, ran after her and retrieved her from the broken Nissan. They married in Yosemite in both an Indian and American wedding, and she now drives a Subaru. They have one lovely daughter, Elina, and a dog named lucky. Good News! A new baby is on the way! All the Rotarians cheered!
She was excited about being in Fallbrook. She can try horseback riding! She takes lessons in Bonsall giving her some “me” time. The horse on the left is her current ride who is eight years old and really responds to cues. She enjoys Rotary. Cleaning up the environment is important to her. She and Dave bought trash grabbers and pick up the trash left on Monserate Mountain. She finds it fun to mentor young adults to budget and plan for retirement. She received that guidance and wants to share it with younger generations. She sat down with her babysitter to view spreadsheets and help plan for the babysitter’s future. She is the Toastmaster’s treasurer at Teradata working at public speaking and ad hoc presentations. Of course, she loves to take her kid to Disneyland that isn’t too far a drive from Fallbrook.