When alumna Tatiana Gomez was choosing her major at UD, she decided the best way to combine her interests and background would be to study both international business and marketing.

“Being a first-generation college student, I had my family’s support to do anything I wanted,” says Gomez. “To keep my curiosity satisfied, I wanted to learn the world of business beyond the borders. I loved analyzing how people from different backgrounds made different shopping decisions, the art behind a marketing campaign and leveraging my bilingualism, so I put both majors together to set me up for my career.”

As an undergraduate student, the Belleville, NJ native served as a student assistant in the Institute for Global Studies office and a career ambassador at the Career Center, while rowing and running club track.

She also studied abroad in Rome for a semester, contributing to an international psychology study about anti-violence in early childhood development. Already fluent in Spanish, she stays on top of her Italian, noting the importance for young professionals to study new languages. “People respect you for taking the time and effort to learn another language, because it is not just grammar and phonetics—it is cultural immersion,” Gomez says. “Speaking another language can be seen as workout for the brain and it can be fun if you make it fun. I keep up with my Italian through Spotify’s Top Italian charts and doing virtual coffee chats with my study abroad friends.”

Upon graduation, Gomez did not have a job role in mind; however, she did have clear goals of her workplace environment. “I was not sure what my actual career was going to look like,” she says. “All I knew was I wanted to work for a company that was doing good for the world and would treat me fairly as an employee.”

Gomez envisioned traveling for work and public speaking, so becoming an account manager at Salesforce.org aligned perfectly with those expectations. “I am very proud to say that I am part of the ohana at Salesforce.org that works with nonprofits helping fuel their missions through cloud-based technology,” she says.

In her position, Gomez helps support nonprofits like Steph Curry’s Eat. Learn. Play. and the Sheryl Sandberg and Dave Goldberg Foundation to help them deliver their mission to the community by deploying the right set of technology.

“I wear many hats as an account manager, [which include] the role of a project manager, customer support and sales lead, as well as a digital advisor,” says Gomez. “In my day to day, I speak to nonprofits about their volunteering, program management, fundraising and membership goals to see how our technology fits their needs to deliver impact.”

The most challenging aspects of her job were heightened at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. “Let’s be real; the expectations to perform for a Fortune 100 company are always going to be high, so selling during a pandemic did not make sales any easier, especially while the economy was tanking," she says.

However, seeing her clients achieve their goals has made her efforts worthwhile. “Sure, being on the phone with customers or resolving support issues can be draining,” she says. “But I get satisfaction from my job knowing that we're helping individuals spend less time aggregating data and more time connecting with their constituents. My heart is in this for the betterment of the world.”

This attitude encouraged her to obtain a Corporate Sustainability Certificate at NYU Stern School of Business. “During my senior year, I took a climate change class and immediately after graduation, I flew to Thailand to earn my scuba certification license,” she says. “These two experiences helped open my eyes to a path I could take my business background and couple it with my desire to help improve the state of the world. By earning my certificate, I made the statement that I want to be morally and ethically aligned to do business that won’t negatively impact the planet, one of the biggest stakeholders that CEOs in the past have not considered.”

After having accomplished so much in her years after UD, Gomez has advice for current students—and her former self.

“The sooner you find what fuels you, the sooner you will get to where you want to be,” she says. “Follow your heart and happiness. Do not spend years chasing a career just to make your parents happy; it is your life. I would have told my younger self to not rush things and to be more present in every chapter."

And for students who haven’t secured a summer internship yet, Gomez has the opportunity for a student or two to join her team as unpaid interns this summer. She recently founded Ceres, a New Jersey-based marketplace that provides consumers with refill options, wholesale products in sustainable packaging and tool rentals at the repair cafe. This will support the shift into a nature-positive economy; Ceres is set to launch this summer.

“I consider myself an entrepreneur looking to change how we shop to help reduce the amount of plastic and pollution our supply chains contribute to our emissions in the U.S.,” she says. “I want to create what retail 2.0 post-pandemic will look like for those that are eco-conscious. If anyone is interested in learning about how I’m looking to do this and offer feedback, I’d welcome a ping!”

Connect with Tatiana Gomez on LinkedIn here.