Diversity, equity, and inclusion are among our core values at UG2. Vanessa Campbell, UG2’s Associate Director of Human Resources, plays an invaluable role in paving the way for the employees whose ethnicities, backgrounds, languages, and identities are essential to our community.
As we mark the beginning of Hispanic Heritage Awareness Month, we spoke with Vanessa about her work.
UG2: How did you come to work in facility services and human resources?
VC: I started at UNICCO Service Company in 1997. One of the attorneys there was a family friend, and the company was looking for a bilingual human resources administrator, so that’s how I fell into it. From there I became the supervisor of recruitment, then HR manager, and eventually a director. I’ve also worked in HR positions in the healthcare industry.
I came to UG2 in December of 2020. I really enjoy what I do because I like the people, and the feeling of being part of a family. I had always liked the people I worked with when I was at UNICCO and when I came here, I knew many people from my years there – even some I had hired! It’s nice seeing where people have gone with their careers and of course seeing how much older we all look. (Laughing).
UG2: Tell us about your day-to-day role as Associate Director of Human Resources at UG2. What do you like about the work?
VC: I like having the opportunity to connect with people from different places. In New England, we often hire Spanish speakers from El Salvador, Honduras, and Puerto Rico. On the West Coast we often recruit people of Mexican descent.
People talk to me about where they came from. They might be interviewing to be a cleaner but in their home country they worked as a teacher. They don’t have fluency in English to continue in the same career and they are worried about even getting a foot in the door here. I try to reassure people that this is a place they can grow, that we promote from within. I try to honor them while I listen to their stories and hear how proud they are about their history. It’s so important to me that we treat every person with the respect they deserve.
UG2: Diversity is a core value at UG2. As we mark the beginning of Hispanic Heritage Month, can you talk about some ways you stay connected to your Mexican heritage?
VC: Well, food is always one way, of course. (Laughing.)
Work ethic is a big part of what was passed on to me by my parents. That’s an important one to me. I have proud parents. They are proud of my career. I spent most of my life in New England, and my parents are here as well, but I have family in Mexico I keep in touch with.
I think it’s important to keep our roots and teach our children what was taught to us by our parents and grandparents. To me, that is what Hispanic Heritage Month is about.