For as long as Jeanniery Gonzalez can remember, she has been someone who sees the humanity in people and in business.

Gonzalez, a recent University of Houston-Victoria School of Business Administration graduate, sees the value in all employees in a business and wants to be a positive force in her new role as a procurement manager for a company that helps children with autism.

Jeanniery Gonzalez

“I believe that when you are in the right position, you can bring change to all levels in a business for the best for all people in the company,” Gonzalez said. “I think that everyone has potential.”

Gonzalez, a Katy resident, graduated from UHV in the spring with her Strategic Master of Business Administration in finance and management. She received her bachelor’s degree in international business in Nicaragua, her home country. For the past decade, Gonzalez has worked her way up to management positions in various jobs.

After she married and moved from Houston to Katy, Gonzalez decided to pursue a graduate degree in business. She wanted to learn more about how to be an influential leader and about academic and corporate industries. She became a UHV student in August 2019 and balanced being a full-time procurement manager for an e-commerce medical supply business with being a student, mother and wife.

Through her courses, Gonzalez always was energetic, said Jifu Wang, associate dean of international initiatives for the UHV School of Business Administration. She was a student who displayed independence, cooperation and leadership skills in her “Leadership/Change” and “Seminar in Strategic Management” courses, he said.

Jifu Wang

During the UHV School of Business Administration’s annual Master of Business Administration Case Conference in May, Gonzalez took the lead in her team’s project on the strategic analyses and recommendations for Sysco. Although her team did not rank at the top, Wang was impressed with the team’s work and Gonzalez’s leadership.

She also initiated a partnership between the company she worked for and Wang in hopes of connecting UHV business students with future internship opportunities. Wang also was glad to see her become a member of the Business Student Association, a student organization that seeks to promote business education by providing students with the opportunity to interact with local business leaders and network with other business students.

Rosie McCusker

“Jeanniery knows how to get a group to work together and is very professional,” Wang said. “She is a great leader and impressed me with her leadership skills. She is very energetic about any task that is before her and is an alumna who wants to help the university in any way she can.”

In February, Gonzalez was just a few months away from graduating and was ready for a new career challenge. She began applying for jobs. The week that she graduated virtually, she received a job offer as a procurement manager for BlueSprig Pediatrics Inc., a chain of therapy centers for children with autism.

During her job interview, Gonzalez shared her past professional work experience and her MBA journey. Having an MBA made a difference in her interview, and she thinks she is ready for her new position, she said. In her new position, she works with all the company’s departments to ensure that processes are aligned. She also works directly with the company’s chief administrative officer.

Her MBA journey has helped her with thinking about how to streamline processes and take a close look at data and every decision being made. She also learned about the rights of a company and the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, or HIPAA, which she learned more about in a human resources course.

“Everything was happening at the right place at the right time,” she said. “I learned so much from my professors. It wasn’t just about education and motivation, it was also the direction that my educational experience took me, and I have hope that future students will receive the same experience.”

As an alumna, Gonzalez would like to give back in any way possible to her alma mater. She has reached out to Rosie McCusker, manager of student recruitment and outreach for the UHV School of Business Administration, about ways in which she could support UHV, including becoming a guest speaker during the school’s annual Alumni Week.

There are several ways in which School of Business Administration alumni can be active with UHV, McCusker said. Some of those ways include speaking to students, sharing their experiences on UHV social media and serving as a panelist during the annual Bachelor of Business Administration and MBA Case Conferences. Alumni also can recommend leaders to serve on the School of Business Administration Dean’s Advisory Board. 

“I am looking forward to continuing to work with Jeanniery as an alumna,” McCusker said. “It is rewarding for us when students stay active with the university. Their professional knowledge is valuable and can help inspire students, and it reflects well on our university when our alumni stay involved.”

Ultimately, Gonzalez would like to further advance her business education and be a positive influence in the business world. She appreciates the help she received from her professors and UHV staff, including McCusker. Gonzalez looks forward to being an active UHV alumna.

“I believe in helping others and inspiring others to believe in themselves,” she said.