Hispanic Heritage Month: Driving Prosperity, Power, and Progress?

Hispanic Heritage Month takes place September 15 through October 15 as a time to recognize and celebrate the contributions, culture, and history of the Latinx community worldwide.??

Our Intuitive Hispanic Origins & Latino Advocacy (?HOLA!) Employee Resource Group (ERG) is commemorating the month with a focus on the theme, “Driving Prosperity, Power, and Progress.” As part of the celebration, ?HOLA! ambassador Mariana Avila, customer program specialist in Sunnyvale, shared her heritage and personal journey at Intuitive.??

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Tell us about your cultural heritage and what people should know about your background.??

My cultural heritage is a rich tapestry woven from the experiences as the child of immigrants. My father hails from Guadalajara, while my mother comes from the Guanajuato region in Mexico. They journeyed to the United States seeking better opportunities and a brighter future for me and my brother, and I have been blessed to inherit a blend of Mexican traditions, values, and resilience. Being bilingual, with Spanish as my first language, has also been a bridge to my cultural heritage, allowing me to preserve those traditions and values and fostering a deeper connection to my roots.??

My mother's pursuit of education, culminating in both a bachelor's and master's degree, exemplifies the dedication to self-improvement that is a hallmark of our heritage. Meanwhile, my father's career as a musician in a Mariachi band adds a harmonious note to our cultural identity. My father was in the best Mariachi band in California in the early 2000s, traveling and performing with artists like Selena, Juan Gabriel, José Feliciano, and Mariachi Vargas. Our childhood was full of music, folklórico dancing, and cooking—things that we practice to this day. Some of my favorite memories are with delicious food surrounded by live music, family, and friends.???

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Tell us about what you do at Intuitive and how you contribute to its success.??

I am a customer program specialist on the Customer Training Support (CTS) team. CTS aims to be a strategic partner by working to help the Customer Training and Sales teams achieve their training goals. We facilitate the coordination and logistics of physician and care team training programs, collaborate with cross-functional teams to develop new programs, and streamline event management processes.????

A huge shout-out to my amazing CTS team: Alpha Tran, Andrea Garish, Emily Currier, Jacqueline Hushbeck, Kendra Ryles, Nichole Yi, Reya Koestar, and Tia Lyons! And to my manager Jocelyn Fang, lead customer program specialist; Michelle Fleming; Kimberly Strobridge; and my all-star mentor, customer program specialist, Eric Burnett. Thank you all for your invaluable leadership, guidance, and training!??

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What gives you energy and inspiration—inside and outside of work???

What truly fuels me is the unwavering support and resilience of my family. My father, mother, and brother are my “why” behind everything that I do. My parents poured their heart and soul into their work, striving tirelessly to provide us a better life. Lo lograron! They did it! They are a constant reminder of the importance of hard work and the profound impact it can have on one's life.???

My father unexpectedly passed away in 2021, and it is still something I struggle with every day. I remind myself that I am so blessed to have had the years that I did with him. I am blessed to be healthy, to have a loving family and partner, to have a job, and, most importantly, to still be breathing. I get the opportunity to continue my father's legacy of determination and sacrifice, always with the hope of building upon the foundation my parents so selflessly laid.??

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What is your proudest achievement at Intuitive???

My proudest achievement at Intuitive is being part of ?HOLA!. I am extremely passionate about diversity, equity, and inclusion. Being part of ?HOLA! has given me the opportunity to tap into those areas of interest while working on my career.??

Tell us more about the ?HOLA! ERG and the work they are doing.???

Our mission is to create opportunities to illuminate shared stories and experiences that bring people together in the Hispanic and Latinx community. Our team provides networking platforms that encourage a sense of belonging and camaraderie across underrepresented groups at Intuitive. We’re committed to providing a representative voice that shapes the company’s culture, and strategies for building diverse, authentic, high-performing teams. Our focus is to elevate our people through collaboration, development, mentoring, and networking, creating a highly attractive corporate culture to bring more Latinx talent now and in the future.?

The theme for ?HOLA!’s celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month is “Driving Prosperity, Power, and Progress.” What does this mean to you???

It means actively contributing to the betterment of society. It involves not only personal success but lifting others up along the way, creating a ripple effect of positive change. Prosperity is about shared abundance, power is the ability to make meaningful change, and progress is the constant journey of improvement. Together, they symbolize the path to the principles of equity, innovation, and collaboration, and advancing toward a more inclusive and sustainable tomorrow.

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