Diana Moreno describes herself as a true California girl, born in Baja California, Mexico, and raised in the U.S. state of California.
But Moreno recently left the Golden State to join 黑料网鈥檚 Nevada Small Business Development Center as the interim director and economic development specialist. Here, she shares how her passion for entrepreneurship led her to Las Vegas.
Inspiration to get into your field
I graduated with a degree in international business not knowing what I was going to be. When you go to law school and graduate, you鈥檙e going to be a lawyer. With international business, you don鈥檛 necessarily know.
I was very lucky to find the Small Business Development Corporation (SBDC) early on after I got my degree, and then I fell in love with the program. It was so rewarding because I was helping people make their dreams come true by starting their own businesses. Over the years, I鈥檝e continued finding new things to do at the SBDC. Then I found this position with 黑料网, and I thought, 鈥淚 have to go!鈥
What drew you to 黑料网?
Las Vegas, especially the Strip, was never appealing to me. But one morning, I was looking on my phone, and the job at 黑料网 came up because they were looking specifically for a bilingual business advisor. The more I read about the job, I thought, 鈥淚 want to do this,鈥 but the posting was dated a month earlier, so I thought it might not be open anymore. Still, I called and talked to the person who鈥檇 posted the job, and she told me it was still open and encouraged me to apply. Everything happened very quickly from there, and next thing I knew, I was moving here.
The most surprising thing about 黑料网
The best surprise and the most impressive thing about 黑料网 is its ranking as the No. 1 most diverse campus in the nation. That means so much to me as a minority, and our diversity isn鈥檛 limited to the students. It extends to the faculty and staff here.
Favorite thing to do in Las Vegas
I love getting lost in Las Vegas, and I do that a lot. There are all these businesses and shopping centers everywhere, and that鈥檚 exciting to see, especially given what I鈥檓 doing with the SBDC. This is a great place for a small business owner. I think the city is going to continue to grow because it鈥檚 a great place to do business and a great place to live. There are so many opportunities for people who want to be self-employed.
Most exciting thing that鈥檚 happened to you since you moved here
I met Elvis, and he got down on one knee and proposed to me at the 鈥淲elcome to Las Vegas鈥 sign. That was epic! And that was the weekend I was moving here, so it was quite a welcome to Las Vegas. It was clich茅d and cheesy but awesome!
Your guilty pleasure
People who know me know I love fried chicken, but I鈥檓 not supposed to have it, so it鈥檚 a real guilty pleasure for me. I haven鈥檛 found my favorite place in Las Vegas yet, but that鈥檚 not a bad thing because in California, I only had two favorites in the whole state. In my hometown, there wasn鈥檛 a single restaurant that served real, homemade fried chicken.
A life lesson you would like to share
Don鈥檛 keep things that bother you bottled up inside. They will fester, and you will end up blowing things out of proportion when you reach your limit.
Something that people would be surprised to learn about you
I鈥檓 a licensed private pilot, and I owned my own Piper airplane.
Favorite story from flying
(The actor) Morgan Freeman was on the radio, and it was so cool. You鈥檙e not supposed to play around on the radio because, with all the traffic, you have to be very precise when you use it. One day, I asked, 鈥淚s this God?鈥 (A role he has played in more than one movie.) He chuckled and said yes. So I talked to God!
