Lone Star College: Leading the Pathway for a Successful Career

The purpose of life is to make it worth living, ring in the bells of passions, tune into the freedom, and create moments to be cherished forever. Bringing forth unique ideas and leading the path determined by dreams, Monica Campana is one such zealous personality signifying the art of living and lifelong learning.

She defines herself as a connector par excellence, believing nothing is a coincidence; everything happens for a reason. She reckons that the daily experiences and faces we come across have a connection filled with new
chances and opportunities. At the professional forefront, Monica envisions the development of people and businesses. Hence, she fills her life with challenges and fearless projects. In her personal life, she rejoices a private life in the beautiful city of The Woodlands, TX, living with her two children Antonio and Daniela.

A Thrilling Journey and Reminiscence

Every step in Monica’s professional career has been a step for professional growth that has made her who she is
today. She was the Director of Elearning in a university agency called SIGUE-e when she lived in Ecuador. However, her ambitious self was rooted in improving her career and fulfilling all her dreams. So, she moved to Texas- a diverse and progressive city with a large Latino population. Monica’s father was Ecuadorian and her mother Salvadorian, so she had a Latin culture and was all set to begin her new life here.

Initially, the job search process was an intense yet rewarding experience. Monica discovered a lot about herself, her abilities, talents while learning new insights and finding the courage to face everything to accomplish her goals. She started as an English teacher for children and eventually became the Director of Human Resources. Moving ahead, she began to get involved in quality systems which taught her considerable experience about processes.

She continued her professional experience in organizational development, which also led to learning about content development and online courses. Finally, during her job search, she learned about Lone Star College (LSC) that got her involved in a special mission of the business community. “God and my parents are the ones who supported me throughout the process and who continue to be a fundamental pillar in my life”, added Monica.

About Lone Star College

Established in 1972, Lone Star College offers high-quality, low-cost academic transfer and career training education to 93,000+ students each semester. LSC is training tomorrow’s workforce today and redefining the community college experience to support student success. Stephen C. Head, Ph.D., serves as chancellor of LSC, the largest institution of higher education in the Houston area and has been named a 2021 Great Colleges to Work For® institution by the Chronicle of Higher Education and ranked 35th in Texas in the Forbes ‘America’s Best Employers By State’ list. LSC consists of seven colleges, seven centers, eight Workforce Centers of Excellence, Lone Star Corporate College and LSC Online. To learn more, visit LoneStar.edu.

Student Excellence is the core mission of this publicly supported, comprehensive community college system, and it is committed to helping students complete their education and reach their goals. From associate and bachelor’s to certification in high demand careers, LSC and its progressive partnerships with many universities provide quality educational opportunities for the successful development of knowledge, skills and attitudes for a rapidly changing world.

The college system serves a population of more than 2.4 million. As one of the largest community college systems in the nation, it enrols nearly 83,000 credit students each semester with a total enrolment of more than 93,000 students. LSC added 16,702 students fall 2010 to fall 2020, representing a 19% increase.

A Day in the Life of Monica

She starts her day early in the morning with her two cats waking her up, followed by going for a walk with her dog. After that, she heads to the office; the days are full of meetings, reports, and collaborations with other
colleagues in Supply Management. As the workday ends at 5 p.m., she looks forward to spending quality time with her children, either chit-chatting or watching a movie. Her family relishes the peace at home. Some days, Monica enjoys playing the classical guitar as a hobby.

Living by the quote, “Attract what you expect, reflect what you desire, become what you respect, mirror what you admire”.

Inspired by the book, “The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People”, Monica aims at becoming a better version of herself every day. Its last chapter, “sharpening the saw” is highly motivating and implies renewing, being in continuous improvement, means learning integrally in mental and spiritual being.

A Client-Centric Organization / A Saviour of Minority Businesses

In supplier diversity, there are many fronts to cover and stakeholders to serve. The organization’s top priority client is minority businesses. It has been loyal to them and ensured that they have equitable opportunities.

Another important stakeholder is internal customers because they are the ones who make the decisions about
which providers to utilize. One of the key goals is to keep them informed of available minority providers and educate them on the importance of supporting minorities.

The primary challenge in supplier diversity has been to educate people to understand the importance of
supporting minority businesses. Also, finding minority providers of the services and products that LSC needs were crucial.

Winning the trust and confidence of the community was yet another challenge, and the company conquered this hurdle by working, supporting events of the chambers of commerce, helping organizations that support minorities, and organizing events from LSC.

Monica’s piece of advice for companies, “One of the values that I think every company should apply is diversity and equity. Markets require innovation and growth and through offering various services and products, this contributes to a more balanced and equitable market”.

The Wall of Achievement

The college has received the Strategic Partner Award from the Greater Houston Business Procurement Forum. Recently, the Supplier Diversity program was titled innovative from The Houston Business Journal magazine point of view. Also, the department actively participates as volunteers in the chamber of commerce diversity committees, giving the college recognition and exposure in the business community.

The Roadmap Ahead

The supplier diversity department is growing by leaps and bounds. The goal is to enhance our supplier diversity program which currently on average is 12% of our total direct spend. The college is excited to implement initiatives that include diversity education internally and further strengthen the training programs for the suppliers. Moving forward, the college has proposed a wide range of information regarding processes, certifications and business opportunities to publicize.

Few words of wisdom for budding female entrepreneurs, “To be successful, it is essential to have a vision, I believe vision is the combination of three elements: dreaming, being passionate and powerful action. If you apply these principles, you can achieve anything in life”.