“Technology can change people’s lives—that’s what I love about it.”

My father was the biggest force who sparked my interest in technology and giving back to the community at a young age. I live through his life lessons: “If you happen to master something, you need to find a way to share these skills with the community.”

After my father passed, I created my personal community project called “Coding Academy” in Monterey, Mexico, which allows children of all ages to learn about coding and robotics. I began teaching 6- to 15-year-old children every weekend, hoping I could help them reach their full potential and show them that they can achieve anything they want no matter the circumstances they are in. To reach a wider audience and successfully teach every child in the academy, I began recruiting other teachers who wished to share their time with us. I wanted them to be exposed on a national level, therefore, I decided to add a competitive component.

I take pride in saying that these kids at Coding Academy won the national robotics competition in Mexico two years in a row (2018-2019). I further expanded their opportunity at a global level and had them compete in the Worldwide Robotics Competition in China. They secured fifth place in 2018 and third place in 2019, but most importantly this opportunity allowed the kids to travel outside their town for the first time and get exposed to a new culture and city.

The pandemic hasn’t stopped us from teaching and striving to be the best. Thanks to Avaya’s support, we are able to teach remotely by giving students and teachers access to communication tools. Satisfaction for me comes with working in a company that constantly focuses on using technology to enrich our society—along with managing the Coding Academy.

“Avaya presented me numerous opportunities to grow professionally and personally.”

I started my career at Avaya over 11 years ago with a degree in IT working as support in the Marketing function. At Avaya I was able to harness my strengths, identify my passion, and utilize my niche skill set for my current role.

I was presented with the opportunity to travel and experience another culture through the Avaya Talent Exchange Program. I traveled from Brazil to Canada for a duration of four months. The cultural exchange truly occurred at the Avaya Ottawa office, where people from different nationalities came together to drive a unified vision. I was able to build relationships, value diversity in thought, and bring that back to my home country. This also opened a gateway for a more sustainable cross-cultural collaboration that has helped my team and I immensely.

Overall, as an avid traveler this experience opened me up to appreciate the uniqueness we all bring into the work space through our various journeys.