Portal Educativo is a Spanish language site created by Hispanic professionals working in the U.S. who want to show the way for other Hispanics who want to go to college and achieve their academic dreams. Portal Educativo is born from experiences of lack of information and go to college.
HISPZ: What has inspired you create your website?
We started PortalEducativo because when we came to this country and wanted to obtain a degree we were very misinformed when looking for reliable sources online or between our network of friends, and we understand that misinformation can be fatal and can literally kill the dreams of education for many prospective Hispanics.
HISPZ: What is the one thing you want the most for your readers to take from your website?
That higher education for Hispanics is achievable and it is not as difficult as some people think and that there are resources and organizations out there that can help them out financially and academically.
HISPZ: What is your favorite part of having an audience to reach out to?
We feel identified with our target audience because we went thru the same things they are experiencing now. Higher education in the United States is very different than in our native countries and it is easy to get lost and lose motivation. We don’t want our audience to make the same mistakes we did, and so we want to give them a “road map” and a lot of helpful tips on how to obtain their degree.
HISPZ: What was your childhood ambition?
Besides being a policeman and wonder woman? Jay wanted to be a professional soccer player and I (Andrea) wanted to be a Veterinarian. Jay actually played soccer until he has 20 years old and played semi-professional.
HISPZ: Tell us about three people that you admire and why?
We admire Ralph de la Vega because he is the quintessential example of our cause. He came to this country without money and without knowing English and thru the power of higher education and his hard work is now the CEO of AT&T Mobility.
We also admire Carlos Slim because of being a visionary and of course for showing the world how high we can climb! We were amazed to learn that since he was 10yrs old he knew he wanted to be an investor and learned how to manage and multiply his money.
And last but not least we admire our mothers and fathers who made tremendous sacrifices to give us an education and help us have a better quality of life than the one they had.
HISPZ: What is your favorite life or business quote?
Andrea: “Whatever you do will be insignificant, but it is very important that you do it”. Gandhi
Jay: “Nobody can go back and start a new beginning, but anyone can start today and make a new ending” Maria Robinson
HISPZ: Tell us about your educational background?
Andrea graduated with a Bachelor’s in Psychology and now finishing a Master’s in Instructional Design.
Jay graduated with a double major in Marketing & Advertising and International Business and Trade.
HISPZ: What is one of the best lessons your parents taught you about life?
Andrea: That life is beautiful and to be happy you don’t need to be a millionaire.
Jay: That everything in excess can be harmful, and that there is no age to pursue one’s dreams.
HISPZ: What is the most important business habit you have?
Andrea: Building sincere relationships of trust and cooperation at work.
Jay: Although business are business if you care about what you do and the people you work with, you will get better results.
HISPZ: What is the best book you’ve recently read and why?
Andrea: ISD from the ground up. It is my everyday “go to” in Instructional Design.
Jay: Obstacles Welcome from Ralph de la Vega – an amazing life story that inspires me everyday.
HISPZ: What advice would you have for young people exploring Hispanic careers?
First we want to say that not everybody needs to study Business, Medicine, or Law. There are a lot of careers out there that a lot Hispanics don’t even know. We highly encourage people to follow their passion; it is the only way to excel in life.
HISPZ: Tell us something about you that would surprise even many of your closest friends?
Andrea: I hate public speaking. I am a chatty Cathy but get extremely nervous when addressing large audiences.
Jay: That I made the top 40 of the national algebra championship in Colombia.
HISPZ: What do you believe helps differentiate your blog/websites from others?
That it is all in Spanish! and that is written from our personal experiences and extensive research.
HISPZ: What is the biggest Hispanic marketing cliche you would love to see go away?
That not all marketing campaigns targeted to Hispanics need to be overly dramatic or romantic or contain Latin music. Hispanics are a very diverse population itself, we come from many different countries and backgrounds and we need advertising that doesn’t put us all in just one category.
HISPZ: Who is the target audience of your website and what data can you provide us about the size of your audience?
Our audience is any Hispanic person who wants to improve his/her life thru education. It ranges from people who want to learn English to people who want to obtain a GED diploma, a technical degree to people who want to go to College.
Our size audience is approximately 40 million Hispanics in the U.S not counting Hispanic who are outside the states and want to come here to pursue a degree.
HISPZ: What are your three favorite news sources to find out what is going on in the U.S. Hispanic world and what do you look for in these resources?
- Hispanicize of course!
- Univision.com
- Google news (set up for Hispanic education news)
HISPZ: Do you have any accompanying Twitter, Facebook or other social media contact information you would like to share?
Yes, our facebook page is Portaleducativo,and you can follow us in Twitter: @portaleduc.
HISPZ: What is the key contact information for you and or your blog/website?
You can reach us at portal.educativo1@gmail .com or toacgomez@ihou.org
What are the best days and hours to reach you and/or your staff with a specific type of story or interview? What are the worst days/times?
Best time is 9-5 Mon thru Fri.
There is not a worst time …seriously.
