Arcadia was born in Mexico in 1969. After graduating from high school, she worked as an executive secretary in a food company for 14 years. She, her husband and her young daughter came to the U.S. in June of 2000.

Arcadia did study some English in Mexico but enrolled in ESL classes again after living in the U.S. for three years so that she could go back to college and speak more effectively to her children's teachers. While attending English classes, she worked part-time as a janitor and stopped taking English classes to start full-time work as a housekeeper.