Who am I? -- My Journey

Who am I? -- My Journey

Hello! 

My name is Benjamin M. De Hoyos. I'm a 17-year-old Certified Professional Genealogist by the Mexican Institute for the Certification of Professional Genealogists. I have worked on my personal family history for 10 years and have done a few client projects for Northwestern Mexico, Southwestern US, and Cambodia.

 My Journey

My interest for Family History and Genealogy began when I was about 7 years old. My grandfather has always been immensely fond of his family, ancestors, and heritage. When I used to travel to his house in Mexico City, he would always tells my cousins and I of the stories of his ancestors and how they overcame challenges and many other things. I was fascinated by his stories and the lessons I learned form them. Later on, during my schooling, I became very interested in History--specifically Mexican History.

I began diving deeper into History in general and developed a great appreciation of the stories of individuals that shaped the Nation.

I discovered FamilySearch.org when I was 8 years old, and I became desperate to sign up for an account. After convincing my mother to help me sign up for an account, I finally joined FamilySearch in October of 2016. A whole new world opened in front of my eyes. Millions of records were suddenly one click away. I could help others find their ancestors through indexing (back when the PC App/Program still existed). I was now able to learn about the personal lives of my family. I felt connected, which was something I had longed for. 

However, my involvement in Family History between 2016 and 2020 was somewhat limited as I moved quite a few times. Nevertheless, when the COVID-19 pandemic was announced in March of 2020, my life changed. Having nothing to do--school was really slow to be totally fair with you, and I was utterly bored--I opened back up my FamilySearch account. I began indexing, finding records, resolving discrepancies, analyzing information, developing critical thinking patterns, and incrementing my appreciation for those who came before me and shaped the life I now live. It was amazing. I was only 11 or 12 years old at the time, and the feeling I had was something I had never experienced before. I felt connected, I felt healed, I felt like I was discovering myself through my work in Family History.

Fast-track to 2023. I attended RootsTech 2023 at the Salt Lake Palace in Salt Lake City, Utah, and I discovered the, what at the time I believed to be, significant lack of resources for and presence of Hispanics in general. I was somewhat disappointed, but I decided to search for more. I went to the FamilySearch Library (formerly called Family History Library) and was met with the most amazing customer service one could receive. Thanks to the help from loving individual--to whom I hold great affection, appreciation, and respect--I discovered countless records for a line in my Family Tree that had been stuck for many years. I felt closer and more connected to this particular ancestor thanks to the help of these individuals. Right there and then, I decided I wanted to help others feel the same way I did by discovering their Family History, reconnecting with themselves, and teaching others.

I went up from the B2 International Floor to the B1 International Floor and asked the usher something along these lines, "Hey, I would really like to volunteer here. I feel I could contribute a lot with my research experience in Mexico and Spain. How can I do that?" By the way, to this day, I don't think the usher took me seriously. I didn't look a lick past 14--and I was 14. Nonetheless, the usher was very kind and provided me the link to apply as a volunteer. I filled out the application--man, it was long--and hoped for the best. I left the Library and forgot about it for a while. I continued with my schooling--I was attending 8th grade at the time--and suddenly, on December 15, 2023, at 16:14, I received an email saying the following:

"Greetings Benjamin,  

Thank you so much for your interest in being a volunteer at the FamilySearch Library (FSL). The Volunteer Committee has reviewed your application and passed your information on to me and my team for further review...I am a research specialist with the Latin America/Southern Europe Team at the FSL. 

My team and I were impressed with your FamilySearch knowledge as well as your language and research skills. We would love to give you a few records to read, have you extract the genealogical information, and then have you create a research plan to see if you would be a good fit to volunteer with us. 

In case you are still interested, I have attached a document that contains two records, one from Spain and another from Portugal. I ask that you read through both documents, extract the genealogical information, and then propose 2-3 steps that can be taken next to further the genealogical research on these individuals. 

Once you finish, you can email me back your answers and my team will discuss whether we think you would be a good fit to volunteer at the FamilySearch Library."

I was elated, to say the least. I now know that the Volunteer Committee didn't know how old I was--thanks goodness. I told my sister, mother, grandmother, grandfather, and even my uncle. I opened the attachment titled "Test Documents.docx" and was met with two documents: one from Spain and the other from Portugal. Nothing too hard, yet I decided I had to put the most amount of effort I had ever put. I knew this would decide whether or not I could volunteer at the FamilySearch Library. I copied the documents, translated them, transcribed them, and extracted the genealogical information. I then looked up the names in the FamilySearch database, found them, corroborated the information I had extracted, and suggested the steps the Research Specialist had asked me to. My uncle helped me review it, and I decided that was my best work. I submitted the document 19 hours after receiving the original email, and wrote the following:

"Greetings...,

Thank you so much for having me in consideration concerning my application to participate as a volunteer in the FamilySearch Library. I am, indeed, very interested in participating in this and being able to help others.

I read both documents and have extracted its information, summarized it, transcribed it, translated it, proposed what to do next, and conducted further research for both cases. I am attaching a document called "Spanish Record and Portuguese Record" with this email for you to review. I apologize in advance for my possible faulty Portuguese translation.

I appreciate your time to review these things and hope to know soon. Please email me back in case you need anything.

Thank you so much!

Regards,

Benjamin De Hoyos"

I waited patiently. I received a follow-up email less than two hours after sending the email where I was informed that my document was received and pending revision. Then, by some miracle, on December 18, 2023, at 17:22 I received an email saying the following:

"Hello again!

My team and I were impressed with your responses, and we would love to have you join us as a volunteer. Before we can send you an official acceptance email, what day(s) and times were you wanting to be in the FamilySearch Library?"

 I was immensely surprised, happy, elated, and whatever other synonyms exist to describe the feeling I had. I jumped up and down (literally) and told all my family. I was so excited. The FamilySearch Library allowed me to organize my knowledge, learn more, and acquire incredible experience with immensely experienced Accredited Genealogists. I treasure these things to this day and am immensely grateful to them. When I showed up to the volunteer onboarding on January 15, I believe that everyone was stunned to see a 14-year-old. It was an amazing experience regardless.

Thanks to my service at the FamilySearch Library, I was able to learn of the great opportunity to certify myself as a Certified Professional Genealogist in Mexico under the Mexican Institute for the Certification of Professional Genealogists and, once I turned 18, under the Secretaría de Educación Pública (SEP), or Secretariat of Public Education, as an official carreer.

As of today, February 23, 2026, I'm currently working on certifying myself as an Accredited Genealogist through the International International Commission for the Accreditation of Professional Genealogists (ICAPGen) in the Mexico geographical area. I'm working on other personal projects related to Family History, and was recently admitted to BYU Provo as a Genealogy Major--something which I'm really excited to start. I will also teach a class during RootsTech 2026 titled "Capture The Important Moments: Turning Your Daily Life Into A Living Family Story" which can be seen through this link.

(https://www.familysearch.org/rootstech/session/capture-the-important-moments-turning-your-daily-life-into-a-living-family-story?)

So, yeah, that's my story concerning Family History :)!

Thanks for reading this and getting to know me better.