December 2, 2020 4:00 am Published by

Episode 84:

Born and raised in Colombia, moved to the USA at the age of 21, after earning a software engineering degree in Colombia thanks to a full academic scholarship that transformed her life. Monica started her IT career in Texas, gaining experience with custom application development and digital modernization initiatives, and later became a Consultant for Oracle, where she traveled across the US and Europe leading enterprise-scale global projects. Her immigrant background and journey to the US was a strong motivation to start MAS Global, a mid-sized Agile software development and IT services company based in Florida with nearshore development hubs in Medellin, Colombia, with close to 200 employees in 4 countries, and strategic partner to Fortune500 corporations. Monica and MAS Global have earned several industry recognitions, including Deloitte Fast500 as one of the 500 fastest-growing technology companies in North America. Monica is an advocate and mentor for women and Latinos in technology, believes in giving back, has supported scholarships for women in technology just as the one she received, and is a frequent speaker at industry events in the US and Colombia. Most recently, she started a foundation called MAS Futuro as part of MAS Global’s commitment to community impact and to continue to deliver on the promise that MAS is More.

What you’ll learn about in this episode:

  • How winning an academic scholarship at twenty-one changed Monica’s life
  • What Monica did to overcome the challenges of adapting to a new culture after spending her entire life in Colombia
  • How Monica found the strength to ask for help when she needed it most
  • What female entrepreneurs can do to accelerate their path to success
  • How Monica has been able to thrive as a Latina and a female in the software engineering field
  • What Monica is doing to give back to the community with her new foundation, MAS Futuro

Resources:

Accelerate Your Path to Success

Monica Hernandez is a software engineer turned CEO with more than twenty years of experience in the technology space. Her immigrant background and journey to the US was a strong motivation to start MAS Global, a mid-sized Agile software development and IT services company based in Florida. On top of the HQ, Monica’s operation also has nearshore development hubs in Medellin, Colombia, with close to 200 employees in 4 countries. In this episode of the Intentional Greatness podcast, Monica joins us to share her story and talk about what it took to make it as a female and a Latina in the software engineering field.

Replanting the Roots

When Monica was just twenty-one years old, she moved to the United States after winning an academic scholarship for software engineering that landed her in Texas. This opportunity would lead to careers in custom application development and digital modernization initiatives, and eventually, technology consulting. But before Monica found her stride in such a heavily male-dominated field, she had to overcome her fears of being an outsider. She had to navigate the challenges of adapting to a new culture after spending her entire life in Colombia. She had to rebuild the community around her and stay in tune with the inherent abilities that brought her there in the first place. Luckily, Monica learned to listen to her intuition early on, and as we all know, that is a superpower in and of itself.

It’s Okay to Ask for Help

Monica’s strong sense of intuition helped her immensely throughout her career, but she did not make Deloitte’s Fast500 list as one of the 500 fastest-growing technology companies in North America solely by herself. She found the strength to ask for help, and this often comes at a time where asking for help is the thing we want least but need most. It takes humility, and especially as a female entrepreneur, being able to ask for help is the key to achieving sustainable growth and scale. Asking for help is one of the most critical decisions you can make because it will only accelerate your path. There is nothing shameful about that.

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