SDSU Alumnas Student Experiences Prepared Her For Professional Career
Cynthia Medina-Solórzano (Management, ‘18)
San Diego State University alumna Cynthia Medina-Solórzano (Management, ‘18) credits her success in the workforce to her student leadership experiences at SDSU. Her diverse range of campus involvements including SDSU Dance Marathon, Associated Students, College of Business Council, Hispanic Business Student Association, and Residential Education Office, helped prepare her for her career in business after graduation in May 2018.
Medina-Solórzano started her career as an Executive Team Leader in Service and Engagement at Target in July 2018. In August 2019, she transitioned from Target to Valley Fine Foods, where she currently works as a Human Resources Business Partner. Medina-Solórzano shares how her student involvement helped her succeed in her career, offers advice for students wanting to make the most out of their time at SDSU, and more.
Background and SDSU Journey
Name: Cynthia Medina-Solórzano
Major (and minor): Business Administration Management, Minor in Marketing
Former campus affiliations / organizations: SDSU Dance Marathon, Associated Students, College of Business Council, Hispanic Business Student Association, Residential Education Office
Medina-Solórzano and the 2015-2016 Dance Marathon Leadership team at their annual Leadership retreat held at Rady Children's Hospital-San Diego.
Q: Where are you originally from?
Vacaville, CA
Q: As a student leader who was involved in many organizations at SDSU, can you share which organizations had the greatest impact on your college experience and career choice?
My time in Associated Students and as a Resident Advisor had the greatest impact on my SDSU experience. I am grateful for the relationships these organizations allowed me to build. I regularly experience situations in my career where I step back and realize that I am way more prepared to tackle it based on what I learned from my time as a student leader and an RA.
Q: What inspired you to become President of the College of Business Council? Please share how the position impacted your SDSU experience.
I first joined the College of Business Council as a Representative for a student organization (Hispanic Business Student Association) and quickly realized how impactful the council was to the experience of Fowler College of Business Students. This led me to run for an elected seat within the college that I did not win. I knew I wanted to stay involved in the Council because there were opportunities I was very passionate about such as creating access to tutoring, increasing first year involvement and supporting student organization projects through additional funding. I continued to be involved in the council as a student organization representative and was later nominated and elected as President. As President, I had the opportunity to sit on various committees that impacted funding, business curriculum and student success. This role impacted my SDSU experience far beyond my term as it allowed me to build relationships with various campus entities and students that I would not have had the opportunity to meet otherwise.
Q: What is your favorite memory from SDSU?
Medina-Solórzano and her last group of residents in August 2017.
My favorite memory is SDSU Dance Marathon’s inaugural Miracle Week in 2016. Our goal with Miracle Week was to dedicate an entire week to strengthening the relationship we had with students who had already attended DM in the past and to recruit more Miracle Makers to join the fight. We had a target of recruiting 250 new participants and to raise $5,000. We were completely blown away by the results of that week! Miracle Week brought in over 1,000 new participants and $25,000 toward our overall fundraising goal. It has been so rewarding to see that Miracle Week has become a tradition at SDSU Dance Marathon.
Q: What is the best advice you received during your time at SDSU?
“Leadership is an action, not a position”. I heard this frequently from former Assistant Dean to the College of Business, Tita Gray. This phrase has taught me that the most impactful leaders don’t always hold fancy titles, rather they are those individuals that choose to take action.
Q: What advice would you give students wanting to make the most out of their time at SDSU?
The words “follow your passion” are thrown out often and it can be discouraging to hear that if you don’t yet know what you are passionate about. I encourage students to stay curious and explore different paths as they present themselves. This can be through joining organizations, taking on internships or networking with professionals in fields that spark your interest. There are so many careers I didn't even know existed prior to my time at SDSU. If you neglect to explore the things you are excited or curious about, you may miss out on finding your thing.
Medina-Solórzano and her friend Shannon Canizalez, who she met as an RA. Canizalez was also involved in Dance Marathon and the College of Business Council.
Career Questions
Q: What inspired you to start your career as an Executive Team Leader in Service and Engagement at Target? If you found the job opportunity through on-campus resources such as the Career Management Center or Career Services, please share your experience.
I chose to start my career at Target because of the developmental opportunities. Target is well-known for their training programs and I wanted to join an organization that was aligned with my personal value of lifelong learning. I learned about the internship opportunity through an on-campus career event. I encourage students to use Career Services as a resource to connect directly with organizations of interest.
Q: Please describe both of your roles at Valley Fine Foods.
In my previous role, I supported our workforce operationally with day to day tasks such as conducting new hire orientations, scheduling interviews and supporting employee relations. In my current role, I support our organization strategically. Some examples of this are rolling out retention programs, setting pay structures and offering recommendations to support organizational growth.
