BizBlock
Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of
Metro Orlando Business After-Hours
@ Pirate ’ s Dinner Adventure in Orlando , FL
Tampa ’ s Largest Office Party !
Held on Thursday , June 22 , 2006 at the XO Club at the St . Pete Times Forum
Brazil Tampa Bay Chamber of Commerce get together !
L-R El Nuevo Dia Staff Con Jolie Gonzalez de Latin Times Magazine y Jerry Alicea de Ron Don Q
Hispanic Business Executives
Share Their Secrets to Career Success !
By Rosa Mercado
For Adriana Colina , the road to career success was long and bumpy – but worth it . Colina , a native Tampeña of Italian , Spanish and Cuban descent , oversees the City of Tampa ’ s Business & Housing Development budget and human resources . “ I ’ ve been with the City of Tampa for 17 years – and I started in a clerical position ,” Colina said . “ Working my way up the ranks was hard because I ’ m Hispanic , I ’ m a woman , and young .”
But her dedication paid off , and in addition to her post with the City of Tampa , she also serves as Producer and Host of the City ’ s Spanishlanguage TV show “¿ Qué Pasa , Tampa ?” Colina was one of three executive panelists at the National Society of Hispanic MBAs Executive Speaker Forum sponsored by PricewaterhouseCoopers in June . Panelists shared their insights on topics like balancing work life , diversity and career challenges with more than 60 attendees .
Carmen Santiago de Latin Times Magazine Ricardo Acosta of Presidente Beer .
Teodoro Mercado-Pérez , Director of Information Technology Procurement for PricewaterhouseCoopers , said being open to change is one of the keys to career success . Mercado-Pérez , who was born and raised in Puerto Rico , also said professionals should ask themselves how their personal goals line up with what they do at work . “ Keep your goals in front of you , and prioritize ,” said Mercado-Pérez . “ It ’ s all about working hard - and resting .”
Robert Rios , Executive Vice President for Citigroup Business Services for Latin America and a native Tejano , encouraged attendees to follow their dreams and stressed the awareness of one ’ s interactions with others . “ Treat people how you want to be treated – never lose the sensitivity of how to treat people ,” Rios said . And for those who may not have their dream job just yet ? Rio ’ s advice is simple : “ Find that spark that makes you want to get up everyday .”
For more information about the Tampa Bay Chapter of the National Society of Hispanic MBAs visit : http :// tampabay . nshmba . org /.
( L-R ) Roberto Germain of Strayer University , Jefferson Michaelis , President of the Brazil Tampa Bay Chamber of Commerce , Jolie Gonzalez of Latin Times Magazine and Andrew Meacham , Staff Writer for St . Petersburg Times .
Jackie Rojas-Quiñones . Chairwoman of the Tampa Bay Hispanic Chamber of Commerce with Elizabeth Saldana Kobel , President of the Puerto Rico Chamber of Commerce of the Gulf Coast @ 1st Friday Latin ConneXions @ the Mirage .