In honor of Hispanic Heritage Month, meet Denise Sosa
Hispanic Heritage Month, which takes place September 15 – October 15, is a time to recognize and celebrate the myriad histories, cultures, and contributions of the Hispanic and Latin community. At the helm of the festivities is the ¡HOLA! business resource group.
As we celebrate this special month, we will be meeting different members of the group.
This week, meet Denise Sosa!
Tell me about yourself – outside of work. What is your favorite hobby or passion?
I was born and raised in the South Bronx! I enjoy arts and crafts, dancing, and singing (which I cannot do 😊). I consider myself a creative person. For instance, I like to build things. Growing up, I would help my dad build furniture.
What you do within Avangrid?
I am with the Conservation Load Management group. I am an Energy Specialist, which means I provide support to the program managers who run the energy efficiency programs for residential/commercial and industrial customers.
When you come to work at Avangrid each day, what is the most authentic (real, bold, unique) part of yourself that you bring to work?
I bring myself! I can connect with ALL cultures and learn about them while teaching others things about my country. I enjoy listening to people tell me how much they love visiting ECUADOR!
What is your heritage or cultural background? What is your favorite aspect of that?
My cultural background is Ecuadorian. Both my parents were born and raised in Guayaquil, and they migrated to the United States in the late 1970s. My favorite aspect of my culture is sharing information about my country: the food, the people, the language (Spanish is the official and Quichua, pronounced keech-wah, -wuh, is the second), and the music.
DE&I is the common term, but what about the B – belonging? How do you view belonging at Avangrid, and what are steps you would like to see taken to improve?
I view it as not being scared to be myself. I am very proud to be Ecuadorian and share that with my peers! Belonging to HOLA has provided me the opportunity to meet new people and develop long-lasting relationships and that’s what I would like to share with more people.
Who or what inspires you?
My family and to see how much we have grown. It brings me joy to hear the stories of my grandparents, parents, aunts, uncles, and cousins, their upbringings, and how they came to the United States and provided such an amazing life for the rest of us. I have close to one hundred cousins between the first, second, and now third generations.
