Margarita Colmenares facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Margarita Colmenares
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| Born | 20 July 1957  |
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Margarita Hortensia Colmenares (born July 20, 1957) is an American environmental engineer. She is also an activist who works to help the Hispanic-American community. In 1989, she made history by becoming the first woman to lead the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers.
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Early Life and Education
Margarita Colmenares grew up in Sacramento, California. She was the oldest of five children. Her parents, Luis and Hortensia Colmenares, were immigrants from Mexico. They worked hard as laborers.
Margarita went to private Catholic schools when she was a child. For college, she first planned to study business at California State University, Sacramento. However, she soon became very interested in engineering. She later earned her bachelor's degree in civil engineering from Stanford University in 1981. While at university, she also enjoyed traditional Mexican dance. She even helped lead the Ballet Folklórico de Stanford University.
Career as an Engineer
While still a student, Margarita gained experience working for companies like Xerox and Chevron. She also worked for the California Department of Water Resources. After graduating from Stanford, she continued her career with Chevron. She started as a field construction engineer. This job involved working on building projects.
Margarita then worked in Colorado and Texas. Later, she returned to California. There, she led a big environmental cleanup project at Chevron's El Segundo plant. This showed her strong skills in environmental engineering.
White House Fellowship
In 1991, Margarita received a special honor. She was chosen for a White House fellowship. This was a big deal because she was the first Hispanic engineer to get this award. During her time as a fellow, she worked at the United States Department of Education.
She returned to the Department of Education in 1996. There, she became the director of corporate liaison. This role involved connecting the department with businesses.
Advocacy and Leadership
Throughout her career, Margarita Colmenares has been a strong voice. She has worked to support Hispanic-American engineers and women engineers. She also helped start the San Francisco chapter of the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers. This group helps Hispanic engineers connect and grow in their careers.
Awards and Recognition
Margarita Colmenares has received many awards for her work and leadership:
- White House fellowship (1991)
- President of the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers (1989)
- Pioneer Award from Hispanic Engineer magazine (1991)
- Community Service Award from Hispanic Engineer magazine (1989)
- National Hispana Leadership Initiative (1989)
- Outstanding Hispanic Woman of the Year from Hispanic magazine (1989)
- Named one of the 100 Most Influential Hispanics by Hispanic Business magazine (1990, 1992)
- Outstanding Alumni Award from the California Community College League
