MENTOR NETWORK
Abel Quintero '17
He/Him/His
Portland/Corvallis, OR
Oxy Major/Minor:
Cognitive Science Major, Ethnomusicology Minor
Current Company:
Marmoset
Current Position:
Product Owner
Campus Involvement/Special Programs:
Latinx Student Union, MULTI, Open Source Club, music groups, Intramural basketball
Secondary Schooling:
N/A
Favorite MP/Cooler Food:
MP pasta bar
Best Oxy Class:
Critical Dialogue on Latinx Issues
Groups I Identify With:
LGBTQ+ and/or BIPOC in STEM, Latino and/or Asian students
Bio:
I graduated with a Cog Sci degree in 2017, and currently I work as a Product Owner for a music production and licensing company. I initially worked in elementary education after graduating, teaching introductory coding to kids. I wanted to get into the tech industry, and the best path seemed to be a coding bootcamp, so I attended one and learned a ton in the span of 6 months. I was able to land a Frontend development/UX design position at a small, local grocery delivery startup and learned a lot of the scrappy skills of an early stage startup. I then transitioned into a product management position at my current company, a mid-size music production+licensing agency. Outside of work, I've been a very active volunteer for organizations like Out in Tech, advocating for underrepresented communities in the tech industry, and I even participated in their mentorship program as a mentee in 2018. I want to be a part of the mentor network because I know first-hand how valuable mentoring can be, and I want to help give back to the Oxy community that got me to where I am now.
Career Advice:
Always be open to many different kinds of opportunities -- the multidisciplinary nature of a liberal arts degree will be very valuable in all fields, and adaptability is one of the most important soft skills of today's economy. Networking is also super important, so polish up your LinkedIn and resume, and attend as many (virtual) networking events as you can!