How Identity Has Influenced a Climate Venture Fellow at Venture Capital's Career
Nick's multiracial background, encompassing Colombian and European heritage, fostered an ability to "bridge the gap between spaces" and understand diverse perspectives, a skill crucial in their project management career. This capacity for empathy, honed through navigating various communities—"white and Latino," "queer with interests that are straight"—allows effective stakeholder engagement by prioritizing understanding "what's important to your stakeholders" before defining project success.
Project Management, Stakeholder Engagement, Empathy, Cross-Cultural Communication, Diversity and Inclusion
Advizer Information
Name
Job Title
Company
Undergrad
Grad Programs
Majors
Industries
Job Functions
Traits
Nick Rojas
Climate Venture Fellow
Early stage VC
UCLA
University of Michigan, Ross School of Business MBA, School for the Environment and Sustainability MS Sustainable Systems
Environmental & Related Sciences
Climate, Environment, Sustainability & Waste Management, Finance (Banking, Fintech, Investing)
Climate, Environment and Sustainability
Honors Student, Scholarship Recipient, Pell Grant Recipient, Took Out Loans, Worked 20+ Hours in School, Greek Life Member, LGBTQ, First Generation College Student
Video Highlights
1. Nick's multiracial background has allowed him to bridge gaps between different groups and act as a conduit, which is a valuable skill in program and project management where stakeholder engagement is key.
2. His ability to empathize and understand diverse perspectives stems from his experience navigating different communities and cultures, highlighting the importance of listening to and understanding stakeholders' needs.
3. Nick's career demonstrates that embracing and celebrating multiple identities can be a strength, allowing for the development of crucial interpersonal skills and broadening one's perspective in the professional world.
Transcript
As someone who identifies as multiracial, how has that impacted how you've navigated your career?
As someone of mixed ethnicity, I think it has played a huge part in my entire life and certainly within my career. My father was originally from Colombia, and my mom was born here in the US with parents from European ancestry.
From a very early age, I understood that I didn't fully fit into one tribe. I'm not fully this, and I'm not fully that; I'm some blend of both. This made it difficult for me to identify with one space.
But I also recognize my ability to bridge the gap between those spaces. I can be a conduit for groups who maybe normally don't talk to one another or don't think of speaking to one another. I've taken this beyond just my ethnicity and into all my other identifiers.
I'm a queer male, but I also recognize that I exist in spaces that are traditionally more straight, like within my fraternity at UCLA or my interest in sports and athletics. I also have a deep interest in drag, the arts, and theater.
You don't need to bucket yourself into one thing and that's all you ever get to be. I get to be both white and Latino. I get to be queer with interests that are straight, or more gay, or whatever it may be.
I'm from a liberal state like California, but a more moderate, semi-rural, semi-urban area like Sacramento. I have these dualities that allow me to empathize and see the perspectives of people from different spaces and try to bring them together.
This has really helped in my career, especially in program and project management, where stakeholder engagement is key. Often, the most crucial first step is understanding what's important to your stakeholders before you create a project plan.
You need to take the time to listen and reach out to people. Ask them what's important to them and what success looks like on a project.
If the project is done in six months, what are they caring about? Is it being within budget? Is it that everyone feels heard? Is a specific feature completed? Has it been deployed in a certain geography? Are sales at a particular level?
Whatever it may be, you need to understand that from your stakeholders to be a good program and project manager. You might achieve the success you've defined, but if your stakeholders don't think so, then you haven't hit success.
My ability to exist within different cultures, spaces, and communities has afforded me the need to build empathy and understand what's going on with people, both personally and professionally.