Her Story
About Diana
I've been in hospitality for almost 22 years, starting when I was just 14 years old in middle school back in Mexico. My parents enrolled me in a private school where the main focus was hospitality, and that's where my hospitality journey began. After moving to Minnesota, I continued my education at Hennepin Technical College studying culinary arts because I loved baking and cooking. After a year, I realized I didn't want to be just in the kitchen - I wanted to get closer with customers and meet people to gain more experience. I transferred to Normandale Community College and earned my associate's degree in hospitality over two years, working the entire time because I didn't want to graduate with huge debt. A few years later, I attended the University of Wisconsin-Stout and earned my bachelor's degree in hospitality and hotel, restaurant, and management. A couple years ago, I started working on my MBA at Metropolitan State University in Minnesota, focusing on business administration and global supply chain. I'm currently halfway through my master's degree. Today, I serve as Director of Training for a franchisee in Minnesota. I run a store as a general manager while also training all new general managers and sharing any new standards that come from corporate to the rest of the company. I'm the only female general manager in my company, and I was the first person in my entire family to achieve a college degree. What I find most rewarding about my work is transferring my knowledge to others and seeing people gain the same commitment and passion that I have.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Diana
01What do you attribute your success to?
I think having my family supporting me has been key to my success. One of the things I'm most proud of is that I was the first person in my entire family to achieve a college degree. I basically put the flag up for the rest of the people in my family so they can see how it works - whenever you want something, it's not easy, but working hard takes you wherever you want to be. My work ethic and everything I do is what has driven me to the position I'm in.
02What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
As a woman in hospitality, one of the things for me is that I'm the only general manager in the company I work for - everything else is males. As women, we have days with ups and downs, but keep your head up and be strong. I know we have some downs, especially being a female in hospitality, but we can do more than one thing to achieve whatever we want to be. Never let yourself down. I know that we have good and bad times in our personal life, but take those bad moments and use them as resources for you to become stronger.
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