In honor of National Hispanic Heritage Month, we asked three IBM employees to share their experiences. Romelia Flores is an IBM distinguished engineer and a master inventor currently on IBM’s client engineering team based in Dallas, Texas. Robert Loredo is the IBM quantum ambassador worldwide lead and a master inventor based in South Florida. Catherine Treviño is a z Hardware brand technical specialist based in Poughkeepsie, New York.
In this Q&A, these three employees open up about how mentorship has benefitted their careers and share the importance of giving back to fellow members of the Hispanic community.
Flores: I joined IBM over 30 years ago as an intern and student at the University of Texas at Austin where I obtained a degree in computer science. As a software developer, I thrive on leveraging technology to accelerate business and collaborate with clients to drive app modernization. IBM has superlative talent around the world, many of whom have guided my journey. Being a strong technologist means being a continuous learner of technology as well as establishing a strong network.
Loredo: I joined IBM in 2004 and am fortunate to have a successful career because of IBM’s network and community. I have 20 years of experience in enterprise product development leveraging leading-edge technologies, most recently with quantum computing, a technology that’s expected to solve intractable problems that today’s most powerful classical supercomputers find challenging to solve.
Treviño: My journey at IBM has been short but accomplished! I joined in 2020 as an intern and rising senior from the University of Texas – Rio Grande Valley. Upon completing my internship, I accepted an offer and returned in 2021. I’ve since switched roles to a different business unit, thanks to the guidance of fellow volunteers of Hispanics@IBM, the community for Hispanic IBM employees.
Treviño: Networking led to a new opportunity within my first year at IBM. When I first joined full-time, I quickly realized the role was not the right fit. As a first-generation professional, I wasn’t sure how to navigate the situation. I chatted with Alan, IBM D&I leader for the Hispanic community, who connected me with Cleo, a Hispanic executive council leader, who brought up an open role. I’m grateful for that connection! Long story short, I’m now part of Cleo’s global sales team, where I help financial market clients find solutions with our z Systems.
Loredo: I’m grateful for the mentor who saw my potential and found a unique way to teach me complex subjects. While at Miami-Dade College, I struggled with the courses for engineering majors. My professor knew I enjoyed music and began teaching me mathematics using music as an analogy. That was my ‘aha!’ moment. My grades improved, allowing a transfer to the University of Miami, where I completed my bachelor’s and master’s degrees in computer engineering. That moment, when my professor found an unconventional way to teach, had a profound impact on me. I use that technique today. I wrote a book that teaches quantum computing implementation and I use analogies to explain it.
Flores: I’ve mentored hundreds of college students and IBM employees, including distinguished engineers and technologists. I’ve been told— especially by females and underrepresented minorities — that they’ve never seen a technologist with my level of impact, and they ask, “What’s your secret to success?” This inspired me to develop the “Eight Cs: Blueprint for Success” which I believe are key attributes for attaining success: competence, communication, commitment, creativity, collaboration, confidence, community, and chuckle – we often forget about this last one, but our work should be fun!
This post was created by IBM with Insider Studios.
