Posted on February 20, 2018 by Joanna Carver
Alumnus Adrian Quintanilla ,’96, assistant vice president of talent acquisition at AT&T, presented the keynote address at the Career Action Program (CAP) conference held by the college’s Center for Student Professional Development.
“I’m proud to be among my fellow Roadrunners,” said Quintanilla. “I get nostalgic coming back to campus.”
While at UTSA Quintanilla worked at the bookstore (which was located in the basement of the Science Building), live at Chisholm Hall and was a member of the Leadership Challenge program.
Throughout his 20-year career at AT&T, Quintanilla has held numerous leadership positions as he was promoted from positions in product development, sales, external and legislative relations and public relations.
“Your career will transform as well,” he said. “Among great leaders there is a lot of consistency. And, I’d like to share a couple of lessons that I’ve gained from great leaders.”
According to Quintanilla the most important quality of a good leader is integrity. “Your values drive your behavior. Your behavior drives your reputation. Your reputation drives your advantage. As College of Business alumni carry on that torch of truth.”
The second tenet that he imparted to future business leaders was to dare to be humble and keep others a priority. He noted that leaders should not be selfish and should take the time to mentor and develop others.
Quintanilla also encouraged the students to continue their professional development throughout their careers. First, he stressed the importance of developing a network of advocates. And, leaders should never remain complacent, and they should continue to develop their skillsets. “I love learning new things,” he said.
His final piece of advice was encouraging students to perform at the highest levels. “Performance is the price of admission,” he said. “But, winners get noticed.”
CAP is the college’s signature professional development program. The CAP conference is an all-day event that introduces students to the finer points of the business world. Almost 300 students attended this spring’s event which included sessions on elevator speeches, interview preparation and business etiquette.
Wendy Frost—
Please send your comments to: wendy.frost@utsa.edu
— Joanna Carver
