Inspiring young people: six stories of Tec’s 2024 graduates

This summer, more than 11,000 undergraduate and graduate students will graduate in 34 ceremonies held at Tec de Monterrey’s 23 campuses.

For the institution, these graduation ceremonies mark the high point of students’ learning experiences, in which more than 360,000 of the university’s graduates get together.

CONECTA, the Tec’s official news site, shares the interesting stories of six graduates, as examples of the many outstanding stories in this and every graduating class.

Lucero Ardila, the Mexican woman who took her photos to Paris

Communications student Lucero Ardila has shown her photographs to the world.

She exhibited her work at the prestigious “Joseph Le Palais” gallery in Paris.

Her work was also published in prestigious magazine Vogue in 2020. What’s more, she received two nominations for the 2021 Fine Art Photography Awards international competition.

She also won the 2023 Youth Award in the Culture and Arts category and received two Borregos de Oro (Golden Rams) as a Tec graduate: one for her entrepreneurship in photography and the other for her outstanding grades.

Lucero fell in love with photography while posing for her fifteenth birthday photo shoot. Her first camera was a used one that she bought with the help of her father.

She is grateful for the support she has received from the Tec community. “When I didn’t believe in myself, my professors encouraged me, saying, ‘Exhibit your photos elsewhere; they’re worth more than a school project.’”

It was also her professors who told her about several calls which she applied for, helping her with international procedures and advising her. And it was the Tec community that funded her trip to Paris.

The Tec graduate said that the most important lesson she learned during her studies was to be resilient. “I studied and worked throughout my degree (...) I stuck to the project that keeps me going today and kept going with my social media and my entrepreneurship.”

All at the same time: dual degree, master’s, and working at the OECD

Fabiola Mendoza is part of the first graduating class to earn a dual degree and master’s at Tec de Monterrey.

She graduated this summer with a degree in industrial and systems engineering and a master’s in Data and Business Analytics (majoring in Supply Chains) from the Rennes School of Business in France.

She studied for a year and a half in France, where she earned her dual degree (two semesters in Rennes and one semester of an internship in Paris).

During her stay in Europe, she also worked in Paris as an intern policy analyst at the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

“Living and working in France was a dream come true, but also a challenge to my resilience because I missed home.”

She completed her studies with a research paper, soon to be published, in which she analyzed the gender disparity in tennis from a numerical point of view.

Karen Ricoy: From performing with Nodal to touring in Rome

Karen Ricoy’s voice has enchanted people not only on social media but also on Mexican and Italian stages.

The Santa Fe campus Communications graduate shared the stage with Christian Nodal at the León Fair in Guanajuato, in 2021.

Her talent also took her on tour in Rome and Madrid with the Italian band Rockin’1000 in 2023. Furthermore, she was part of Belinda’s team in The Voice Mexico in 2019.

She participated with the Tec’s Singing Company from 2019 to 2024 in various ensembles, such as VERSUS Rock vs Pop, which was presented at the National Auditorium’s Lunario, and the selection for the “Singing to Music” concert at Carnegie Hall, New York.

She won several awards at VibrArt, Tec de Monterrey’s art and culture festival, and has recently won a Borrego de Oro(Golden Ram) for her excellence and contribution in the artistic field; a diploma for student development, and a LIFE award for artistic leadership.

In addition, she has released two songs through online platforms and is currently working on her first medium-lengthmini album.

It was thanks to an artistic scholarship that she was able to study at the Tec.

Sport, leadership, and working in business

Antonio del Moral has done it all as a Tec student.

He was a linebacker for the Borregos Toluca football team, was part of the Tec Ambassador program, and participated in the Eugenio Garza Sada Global Leadership Program.

During his studies in Industrial and Systems Engineering, he moved to the Santa Fe campus and gained experience that opened doors at MARS Inc. for Royal Canin and Eukanuba Mexico.

In this position, he managed national budgets, sponsorships, and canine events.

“I was asked to give a talk or workshop for the Toluca women’s and boys’ teams, it was a great experience.

“After being at MARS Inc., the Coca-Cola Company contacted me to tell me they had a project I might be interested in and I had a new job within three days,” he said.

He had the opportunity to do an exchange program in France while working for Coca-Cola, where he earned a certificate in general management.

Upon his return, the international beverage company welcomed him back and he will assume the role of Business Intelligence Manager in a few days.

“We developed a strategic playbook that allowed us to increase our market share,” said the Tec graduate.

Soccer player, leader, and great storyteller

Thanks to her soccer skills, Alejandra Norman won an athletic scholarship to study Business Transformation and Strategy at the Laguna campus.

In the institution, she discovered several opportunities to excel beyond sports.

“I did the tryout online because it was during the pandemic; I was selected but then I got injured and was out for five months, though I could still participate in student groups.

“I was president of the FETEC Mexican Institute of Finance Executives student group, participated in the organization of the Act Forum on my campus, and founded a film group where we would first talk about a topic and then watch a related film,” she recalled.

She was part of the Storytellers program, which tells stories about the Tec community on the different Tec de Monterrey platforms, and she received the Leadership Merit Award from the Community of Higher Education Institutions of La Laguna.

There she stood out for her level of photography, video editing, and article writing

For her outstanding work in leadership in student groups, the Zacatecas native received the Borrego de Oro (Golden Ram), an award given by the Department of Student Leadership and Education.

Today, after finishing her university studies, she can look back and congratulate herself, “You made it, you persevered. It cost a lot, but it was worth it, and I am proud.”

From Borrego basketball court to world medalist

Coming from a high school in Albuquerque, New Mexico, in the United States, Ramón Limas arrived at Tec de Monterrey and fulfilled his dream of representing Mexico in an international competition.

This sport allowed him to receive a 100 percent scholarship to study Strategy and Business Transformation at the Toluca campus, where he continued his training in the sport.

“In 2023 and 2024, we qualified for the Big 8 competition and finished runner-up. We also managed to get the student community more involved in the sport and they came out to support the team,” he said.

The Chihuahua native discovered another way to play basketball, which led him to experience his first tournament outside the country. He participated in the Pan-American FISU 3x3, qualifying for the World Championship in Turkey.

“The Pan American FISU in Peru was our first international experience and we made it to the final, then we went to the world championship in Istanbul and got a bronze medal.

“Without a doubt, the best experience I’ve had is representing Mexico in the Pan American Games; filing into the stadium with the delegation in front of 80,000 people is the best thing that has ever happened to me,” said the shooting guard.

The next step for Ramón is to sign with a team in Mexico to continue his career in either the National Professional Basketball League or the Cibapac League.

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