Eller MIS Graduate Featured in ¡Hola! USA Magazine

Eller College alumna Beatris Mendez Gandica ’18 MSMIS was featured in the September issue of ¡Hola! USA in honor of Hispanic Heritage Month. The magazine released its first LatiNext issue this month, which focused on highlighting the next generation of Latinx leaders.

The Eller alumna was honored to be highlighted in the Spotlight on the Next section for her role in fostering diversity in technological-related careers. She told the magazine that, “’being a Latina in tech is something that I take with great responsibility…. The beauty of tech is that it doesn’t matter where you come from; you have an open opportunity to create and express yourself.’” Gandica also explained to ¡Hola! USA that she strives to inspire young students to pursue STEM careers.

Gandica is currently a security program manager at Microsoft in Seattle, Washington, and is also the founder of the Nuevo Foundation, a nonprofit that teaches programming skills to underrepresented students. At the University of Arizona, along with earning a master’s in MIS, Gandica coached students on evaluating diversity and inclusion initiatives at the University.

Header photo courtesy ¡Hola! USA