Lending a hand to others is ingrained in the lives of some senior-level executive women. Delilah Nunez at The Aerospace Corp. and Adriana Ocampo at The Boeing Company find tremendous satisfaction in volunteering and encourage us all to find ways we, too, can be a part of giving back. Here are their stories:

Delilah Nunez is a senior project engineer with The Aerospace Corp. She’s been working in engineering for 26 years. According to Nunez, her success in the engineering field didn’t happen by her efforts alone. She credits help from mentors who guided her along the way. That mentorship spurred her to become deeply involved in volunteerism.

“I volunteer and support various STEM events at elementary, middle, and high schools… I have also done about two events for the student chapter of Hermanas Unidas at UCLA,” explained Nunez via email. “I also support ALMA, Aerospace Latino Members Association, an employee resource group at my company… One of the organizations I have supported the most and longest is MAES, a student chapter at Cal State Long Beach. MAES (Latinos in Math, Engineering, and Science) was once known as Mexican-American Engineers and Scientists when I first joined as a student.”

She said in most cases, she serves as a mentor, speaker at events such as career day, and technical panelist.

“If the opportunity arises, I also help connect students with other mentors or internship opportunities,” said Nunez.

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It was during her college years that Nunez first realized the power of volunteering.

“I started out as an undergrad student and ultimately became a student officer for MAES,” she recalled. “MAES really helped connect me with mentors and opportunities that lead to scholarships. As a first-generation in my family to go to college, I really appreciated being involved with organizations like MAES. We also gave back to the community as well, like helping middle school kids realize it is possible to go to college.

“Once I became a professional, I felt the need to continue to give back and help those that follow. Especially when I still see the same issues and questions for many first-generation Latino students. While I have supported MAES for many years in various ways (resume workshops, mock interviews, keynote speaker, helping organize/sponsor STEM engineering extravaganza for middle school kids), I have extended a lot of the outreach and mentoring on my own to various schools…”

Asked why volunteering is so important to her, Nunez pointed to one person who mentored her while she was an undergraduate student.

“I would not have come across this person without folks volunteering their time to be mentors and support organizations like MAES. It made an impact on my education and career, so I felt the need to pay it forward and have been ever since. While I don’t limit my outreach and support to just MAES, it has a special place, and I am always looking to see how I can help. Even when times get tough and busy and I always can’t support as often as I like, I always try to find a way for others to help. And what better use of time to help and support in the development of future STEM leaders in our communities? Especially in Latino families, often they don’t realize the opportunities and potential they have to pursue STEM careers.”

Adriana Ocampo is chief of staff and business integrator, Boeing Global Services, The Boeing Company, with more than 20 years of experience in engineering, operations, supply management, strategic work placement, and corporate audits.

Ocampo currently serves on the national board of directors of the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers (SHPE). She was one of the founding members of Boeing Women in Leadership and Boeing Hispanic Employees Network Business Resource Group in St. Louis, MO, and Dallas, TX. She has promoted STEM by mentoring, volunteering, and presenting at the St. Louis Science Center and at underserved middle schools and high schools in St. Louis, South Florida, South Carolina, and the Dallas/Fort Worth area. She’s also talked about STEM careers to pre‐college and college students.

Ocampo reaches out internationally and promotes STEM in other countries such as Colombia, Bolivia, and Chile. She cites her community service as her most significant work. Family sacrifices are part of what has compelled Ocampo to make helping others a priority.

“My passion to help others hit home personally when I traveled to my family’s hometown in Colombia after my grandfather passed away,” she said. “While I was there, I discovered the sacrifices my grandfather made to make sure my father and uncle got their educations. My grandfather’s own father died young, and his mother was blind, so he had to drop out of school to support the family. However, my grandfather made education a priority for my father and my uncle, and they eventually both became engineers. My mother is Colombia’s first female marine biologist, so it was no surprise that I found myself studying the sciences. And when I look back at the opportunities I had, I feel a need to give back to my community.

“Following in my grandfather’s footsteps, I am committed to education. For example, I helped pay for one of my cousin’s college tuition in Colombia. She is the third of four siblings, and she lost her father at the age of 6. I am also helping to pay for my nephew’s college tuition so he can graduate debt-free.”

Ocampo encourages everyone to find avenues to help others.

“You need to identify what moves you, what’s important to you, and find a way to make a difference in someone else’s life,” she said. “You can be a mentor, volunteer your time by helping the elderly, clean the beach, or the bottom of the ocean. There are many different ways. Just make a difference.”