Heritage, Diversity, Integrity and Honor: The Renewed Hope of America

In celebration of National Hispanic Heritage Month, a period designated by the U.S. Congress to acknowledge the presence and contributions of Latinos in the United States and which officially begins today, I wanted to take the opportunity to blog and reflect on this year’s theme: “Heritage, Diversity, Integrity and Honor: The Renewed Hope of America.”

As I look back, I’m reminded of the hope that was instilled in me by my parents and my path as a Tejano born of humble means to my current career as a Mechanical Engineering Manager in the Etch division at Applied Materials. As a mechanical engineering student at Texas A&M University at College Station, I was fortunate to co-op at Applied Materials in Austin for several semesters where I contributed to customer engineering special designs and the transition of manufacturing from Santa Clara to Austin. After receiving my M.S. degree from the University of Texas at Austin, I was hired on full time as a New College Graduate (NCG).

My 14 year career at Applied Materials has provided me many opportunities to develop enabling technology that has changed the world we live in. Most recently, I was part of the team that developed the Applied Centura AdvantEdge Mesa product that was launched this summer at SEMICON/West.

Additionally, working at Applied Materials has given me the opportunity to give back to the local Hispanic community through K-12 outreach, mentoring, new college graduate recruitment, and more. Many of these opportunities are sponsored in part by Applied Materials. I also have been able to continue my participation in professional societies/organizations. These organizations promote education and professional development and include, the Society of Mexican American Engineers and Scientists (MAES), the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers (SHPE), the National Society of Hispanic MBAs (NSHMBA), and the Society for Advancement of Chicanos and Native Americans in Science (SACNAS). I’m really looking forward to attending the 33rd Annual MAES International Symposium in a couple of weeks. Send me a note if you are interested in meeting at the conference.

Applied Materials has a long history of valuing a diverse workforce and regards it as a competitive advantage. Applied Materials also supports employee events such as the upcoming Diversity Day Conference in Austin on September 29 – a day full of insightful workshops, informative exhibitors, and engaging speakers.

Finally, I am proud to work for a company that has such a strong technology heritage, values diversity as a competitive advantage and is known for its honesty and ethical business behavior. Applied Materials supports engineering and science education leading to a renewed hope in America.