Member Spotlight!
The students featured on this page were nominated by their fellow ALPFA UW members. Their peers believe they embody the ALPFA core values which include: inclusiveness teamwork, cultural awareness, and diversity. Congratulations to all everyone of you, thank you for your dedication to this organization. We can’t wait to see what you continue to do!
PEYTON GOMEZ
Why did you decide to join ALPFA?
I heard about the first meeting because of the RSO fair that was in Foster at the very beginning of the year, and Andrea there. I signed up on the list with her to stay connected with ALPFA and I got the email. At first, I was kind of like, I don’t know if I want to go because I was like, I don’t know that many people, but I did Business Bridge and there was like seven different people from business bridge going to the first meeting, so we all kind of just showed up together.
What is your biggest takeaway from being a member of ALPFA?
I would say it’s really important to stay connected with your culture, no matter what you’re doing. I went to a school that was predominantly white, and very small, and there is two other Hispanics at the school, one of them being my sister. So it was kind of tough to stay connected with your culture. It was nice to come to UW and have an organization like ALPFA that makes sure that we as Latinos are supported by each other in the business world. It got me connected to organizations, and I feel like I really benefited from having the connection between business and the Hispanic culture.
How has ALPFA contributed to your college experience?
Getting connected to people. I came in doing Business Bridge and YEOC so I definitely knew people from here. But through ALPFA I got to know people further and get to know like upperclassmen because a lot of the people I knew were like freshmen. Meeting you [Luis], Andrea, Vanessa, like all of you guys that was really helpful because I also got to see were ALPFA has taken you guys, and your journey with it too.
ANDY MANZANO
Why did you decide to join ALPFA?
In high school, one of my really big things, and actually one of my bigger things since I’ve moved to Seattle has been wanting to actually connect with my culture in my own way. It’s been difficult to do that because I’m kind of like that second generation of kids who’s grown up here, my mom and my grandma were the first people to actually immigrate here, and in doing so, we lost a lot of our culture especially because when I was growing up a lot of it was just survival above all else. So, I think we lost out on a lot of that connection to culture and being able to keep up traditions. In high school It wasn’t till senior year that I was able to revive my schools LSU (Latino Student Union), it was good and I enjoyed it but definitely one year wasn’t enough to feel like I was reconnected with my culture. I wanted it to be a part of my life, so ALPFA fit that need, and the extra bonus was like, we help you in your business major. I think primarily it was to connect with my culture, and now it’s like to my career. I joined and stayed because I enjoy being able to have, you know, other Latinx students on campus, who get what I’m going through.
What is your biggest takeaway from being a member of ALPFA?
One of the biggest takeaways that I got from it that I wasn’t necessarily expecting, there’s something special about ALPFA. I know we always joke, like, it’s the ALPFAmilia, but like that’s definitely what it’s felt like since day one. I don’t think I was expecting for it to become such a vital thing to my life routine, my day to day, like at UW and everything and it’s something that me and my friends bonded over. I’ve also gained such a wide network through it, and one of the things that I think has been really important and it’s part of the reason why I ran for position, was really the fact that I’m nurtured by this group, and I still need to give something of myself to that group that at least in my eyes goes beyond just showing up. I’m well aware that’s a role to play, but I feel like it’s done so much for me in this short relative time, it’s been doing stuff for me before I was even a member. For that power in my life, like I need to be something substantial back, so I think it’s really just kind of keeping it thriving. It’s the feeling that well they’ve already done so much for us, I guess it feels like a responsibility, that’s enjoyable to do, and that’s something that I really wasn’t expecting coming in. So I think the importance of the ALPFAmilia.
How has ALPFA contributed to your college experience?
It’s definitely filled it up in an enjoyable way. I think it’s definitely given me something to look forward on our club days. And even when we didn’t have club. Me and Jessica and Peyton we’d be doing homework, we’re getting kind of bored and we don’t want to go out within this just like, Oh, we have ALPFA it’s just something that’s a big highlight of our of our week. Always wondering what we’re going to do in ALPFA this week. It’s served as its own little like beacon of enjoyability, and hope, and happiness. It definitely like filled my time in a way that I could appreciate, with something constructive and helpful and enjoyable. All of that all of those happy nice positive things on top of getting professionalism and earning all of these skills and different things like that, that’s just even supplemental to what it offers me and I’m really thankful for that.
MARIA VICTORIA ANGULO
Why did you decide to join ALPFA?
I went to my first meeting, I think it was towards the very end of fall quarter of my freshman year, and I loved the community feel of it. It was also really helpful just to learn how to manage college, and also build a professional life. So it was just kind of like an overall really good feeling that I got from it, and it just kept me coming back.
What is your biggest takeaway from being a member of ALPFA?
I think that, kind of going back to, and it’s like all community like the people that you meet and the people that you will talk to, you never know where that could take you. A lot of people from ALPFA have helped me with going through problems, or professionally. I met the recruiter for my first job through ALPFA, just by going to a meeting. So it was like, whoever you talk to, like, you never know where that might lead you, so it just definitely was like a good learning experience from ALPFA
How has ALPFA contributed to your college experience?
I think it’s just given me the opportunity to grow, like I’ve been on like a couple of committees and I’ve grown through the years with it. So it’s just given me that community aspect, as well as I’ve been able to learn a lot about how to plan events, meetings are planned. Which has been really fun.
AHLAM NUR
Why did you decide to join ALPFA?
The people there were always very welcoming, very friendly, genuine, wanted to help out any way they could. I never felt awkward, or uncomfortable. I thought it was a comfortable space, you can say whatever, you can be whoever you are, and it’s like no judgment, and everyone just wants to be a community. I like that feeling, and that’s what made me stay and come back.
What is your biggest takeaway from being a member of ALPFA?
What I’ve learned, like for the Finance Committee has been helping me in terms of time management, and just like seeing things on a college level scale. Cause I did have officer positions in high school but, I was always scared like, oh my god I don’t know if I could do in college, college is much bigger, and everyone is more serious. Just being able to see the subcommittee and learning from Vanessa, just like realizing that it’s not as scary as it seems. It’s a learning process and that really was really helpful because I was interested in finance, I’m treasure treasurer for NABA (National Association of Black Accountants) next year. At first I was scared to apply to any officer positions, but then I was like, hey, I’ve seen ALPFA, I’ve been able to be in the Finance Committee, I can do anything, it’s all a learning process. You know, we’re always trying to figure things out when we do fundraisers, I realized you’re not by yourself, you have everyone else around you, to help you.
How has ALPFA contributed to your college experience?
Just having a community. I’m like a big on community like wherever I feel comfortable, where I feel like I have people that I can lean on, and they can lean on me, that’s where I tend to gravitate towards. I’m a very like personable person, I want to be with people, I want to have a full on experience, you know, and so as a person ALPFAs given me that, and feel like I have people I can go to for support. Just like its overall learning experience, in the Finance Subcommittee I’ve been able to get really close with Vanessa, and people from B2, and Jared and Daunte who I’ve gotten to know better, which is really cool. And the adventures we had going shopping for fundraisers. Messing around in stores, baking the chocolates, just like I’ve made a lot of great memories. There’s the stress that comes with school, and the stress that comes with fundraiser, but then there’s also like all the good memories you’ve had. It just shows me like the good in everything.