Student Success Story: Meet Guillermo Gamez Cordova
As a first-generation college student, Guillermo Gamez Cordova’s journey to Arizona State University was not easy. He started his college career at Cochise College in his hometown of Douglas but decided to leave school to work because his family needed the extra income.
Eventually, Guillermo grew to dislike his job and realized he could help himself and his family more if he finished his degree. It was a tough adjustment getting used to a smaller personal budget and finding his academic groove again, but through his involvement with TRIO Student Services at the college, he was able to find academic success.
In 2019, Guillermo graduated from Cochise College with the Arizona All-Academic Team honor and started studying Entrepreneurship & Management at ASU’s Polytechnic campus.
Through his connections and determination to find opportunities that would help him pay for university, Guillermo found the Arizona Hispanic Chamber of Commerce’s (AZHCC) scholarship opportunity. He applied, interviewed and was awarded. It is through AZHCC’s partnership with Education Forward Arizona that Guillermo came to be in our Success Services mentoring program. Eventually, Guillermo worked for AZHCC as a data analysis intern and played a big role in planning their annual DATOS event.
As a business owner and entrepreneur, Guillermo’s father is his inspiration for wanting to go into the business world. Watching his father struggle with business management eventually led him to his degree choice.
Now on the verge of graduation, Guillermo aspires to help entrepreneurs like himself manage and run their companies in the most efficient and effective ways. He hopes to empower other business owners to be ambitious in their goal setting and help them to realize their dreams.
Guillermo says he is thankful for Education Forward Arizona for many reasons. The workshops and events built into the program allowed Guillermo to meet new people and create his own network for future opportunities and his success adviser helped him find the internship with AZHCC.
His advice for students like himself is to look for the people who want to help you.
“Reach out, let them get to know you and your goals. There are a lot of people out there that want to help you succeed. Don’t be afraid and don’t give up.”
Guillermo will graduate on Dec. 16, 2021. Congratulations, Guillermo!