Zaida Velazco ’17 attended Albertus as an international student from the Dominican Republic, a dedicated tennis player, and a passionate campus leader. Now, Zaida is thriving as a product designer and a business owner with her husband, who she met at Albertus.
Before Zaida found herself at Albertus, she studied English for a semester at Manhattanville College. She considered staying until she learned they didn’t have a tennis team. Luckily, the tennis coach at Albertus reached out to her.
Zaida’s mom was thrilled she would go to a school with a tight-knit community– she was nervous she would get lost in a bigger school.
“Coming from another country, obviously you’re going to get a culture shock. But it was cool being able to come from my country and study here and play on a team– the whole experience made me want to stay here.”
Zaida had several mentors on campus, including the admissions team. She says they helped her get used to college life and made sure she could navigate the campus. Erin Morrell, Associate Dean for Student Engagement and New Student Orientation, is an inspirational person to her to this day, and they often catch up over lunch.
Her advisor, the late Ron Waite, will always have a special place in her heart.
“When I was a student, I didn’t really know which path to take within communications, and he helped me. He made sure I knew every branch of communications so that whatever I chose to do, I could do it. If I didn’t have him I wouldn’t be where I am today.”
After earning her Bachelor’s in Visual Communications at Albertus, she completed her MBA at Southern Connecticut State University. While she was going to school, she worked as a graphic designer for the institution, a challenge Zaida says she appreciated.
After just a few years of working in the industry, Zaida decided to make a leap, but she didn’t make this leap alone. She and another lifelong connection she made at Albertus, her now-husband Gabriel Perez ‘18, started their own company called VP Creative Agency. They wanted to exercise their own approach to design.
“It was both scary and exciting. We were like, ‘are going to do this?’ And we were like ‘yeah!’ and just went for it.”
Zaida reflects on what she is learning as a business owner and during her time in the MBA program. She stresses the importance of finding your special skill.
“You cannot offer a lot of services. You just have to be good at one thing. That’s how people are going to find you. I think we’ve been learning that from the year we started.”
She also reflects back on her impact at Albertus and how she applies her positive attitude and drive to make meaningful connections in her professional life.
“I was always around, always helping people, and I think it’s always good to be somebody to reach out to for support or a different view on something.”
Zaida was always willing to give her perspective as an international student. Her advice to other international students today? Find the right resources and be open to new experiences.
“Be open to knowing different things outside of your field, because you never know. Product Design doesn’t exist in any major, it’s just something that you get to learn. If I didn’t have the education that I had at Albertus, I wouldn’t be where I am professionally.”
Read more about Zaida’s student leadership here.