As one of 11 children of Mexican immigrants, Graciela Mendez had to work hard since she was a young girl to help her family. Whether she was cleaning hotel rooms or working in a cannery, Mendez always told herself she wanted to do more with her life. She would go to college and get a better job—somehow.
When Mendez had an opportunity to move with friends to the Twin Cities for college, she had to convince her traditional Mexican parents that it was acceptable. But she did it, studying English and office administration at St. Paul Technical College while working as a janitor to pay her way through school. Her first office job was in human resources at ABM Janitorial Services in Minneapolis, where she used her Spanish skills to hire maintenance and security employees. Next, Mendez spent five years at CLUES as an employment advisor, providing training and guidance to more than 7,000 recent immigrants.
Today, Mendez is a home-ownership advisor for the Neighborhood Development Alliance, advocating for and counseling first-time home buyers through the process. She also works as a foreclosure prevention specialist. Mendez is a familiar figure in the community, both from her seminars for first-time buyers and her role as spokeswoman for the alliance’s Spanish radio ads.
“I love what I do,” she says. “I feel like my clients are comfortable coming to me for advice. I went through a hard time in my own life, so I understand what they are going through. I tell them, ‘I know what you are going through and I know you’re going to make it.’ ”
Mendez also juggles being the single mom of three young boys and a community volunteer. She is active at her church and gives her time and skills as a translator to her sons’ school and as a promoter of Univision, the Twin Cities’ Spanish-language television station.
