Celebrating SAME Members for Hispanic Heritage Month

Pioneers of Change: Shaping the Future Together

September 15 kicks off SAME’s month-long celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month from September 15 through October 15.

SAME is proud to showcase the diverse and inspiring career paths of its Hispanic American members in the military and A/E/C community with the theme, Pioneers of Change: Shaping the Future Together. From overcoming challenges to achieving milestones, these professionals share their stories to motivate others. They take pride in their accomplishments, which range from innovative projects to leadership roles that have contributed to our national defense. On social media, SAME is curating these narratives to foster a community of shared experiences and support. This initiative not only celebrates individual achievement but also highlights the collective progress and vision of Hispanic Americans in engineering and STEM professions. Follow along with our hashtags to not miss out on any of the fun!

Master Sgt. Guillermo Cajigas, USAF

Electrical Systems Craftsman

Guillermo is proud of his seventeen years in the Air Force. As an Electrical Systems Craftsman (Electrician), Guillermo had the opportunity to spend a 4-year special duty tour in California as an Air Force Enlisted Accession Recruiter. His sought-after skills as an electrician resulted in deployments to Iraq, U.A.E, Oman, and as part of a humanitarian mission in Vietnam.

Guillermo is motivated by winning in his professional life. He finds inspiration in the quote, “Leaders Eat Last,” knowing that the only way to win “is by taking the team with me and getting the recognition they deserved. In the end, if I didn’t make it, I know that someone that I had mentored and prepared for the rank could get that opportunity where I could not succeed.”

Aside from the birth of his daughter, his main source of pride comes from the hard work that resulted in achieving the rank of Master Sergeant. He attributes his passion and drive from the Hispanic community and his Puerto Rican parents. His Army veteran father always found a way to complete his mission no matter the obstacles, while his mother provided a structured and stable environment despite the many challenges they faced.

Ivonne Bates, Ph.D., PMP

Chief, Installation Management Division

For Ivonne, Hispanic History Month is an opportunity to celebrate the accomplishments of Hispanic Americans and help provide a deeper understanding of their rich and diverse contributions to American culture. While serving her country as active-duty Air Force, she attended night school while raising children, and in 1990, she earned her B.S. in electrical engineering.

She is motivated by the challenge of learning rapidly changing industry technologies as well as finding innovative solutions to complex problems. “Working on countless teams within my professional community inspired me to strive for excellence and push the boundaries of what is possible.”

Capt. Nicholas Schrage, USA

The son of Brazilian immigrants, Nicholas spent his youth in Florida and later in Virginia where he accepted a football scholarship to West Point, driven with a strong urge to give back to the country that “gave my family everything.” After losing his father at age 11, his mother stepped in to raise him and his brother through extremely difficult times. He sees his mother as his role model and took her lessons of humility and perseverance to heart as he navigated his professional life.

Majoring in law and legal studies with a minor in environmental engineering, he was commissioned in the 3^rd Infantry Division as an Engineering Officer and served in South Korea and Eastern Europe following the Russian invasion of Ukraine. He feels a calling to be part of something bigger than himself and is very proud of his fellow service members and his overseas deployments. He is especially proud of receiving the Steel Order of the de Fleury Medal for his contributions to Army Engineering. Nicholas also feels pride as a Latin man and sees his culture as “a compass to recalibrate me in times of hardship or doubt” and his family as “reminders of what Latin culture means and strives to be.”

Elizabeth Cabral

Principal, Cabral Consulting Group

Elizabeth comes from a long and proud history of builders and service members. Immigrating from Mexico in the 1900s to build a new life in California, Elizabeth’s grandparents lived through the Great Depression, worked hard, and raised a family whose sons went on to serve their nation at Normandy in World War II, the Korean War, and even had a hand in building the Pentagon.

Elizabeth’s own career took off when she played an instrumental role in landing the first Design-Build SAC Contract for NAVFAC. Later, her drive and determination led her to establish her own company that provides strategic planning and proposal development services to a select group of firms. She is very proud of her family’s story and their service to the country. Hispanic History Month allows her the opportunity to celebrate her family’s legacy and share their experience to inspire others.

Uriel Reyes-Castanon, PMP

Project Manager, Tetra Tech, Inc.

Uriel recently finished 20 years of active duty service as a U.S. Army Engineer Warrant Officer, where he helped deliver energy resilience projects to improve the quality of life for our nation’s warfighters. Selected as the U.S. Army Engineer Regiment Outstanding Engineer Warrant Officer of the Year, he takes great pride in this career highlight and attributes his success to the lessons of hard work and education that his immigrant parents instilled in him at an early age. Transitioning out of the military and into the private sector was a fearful time, but with the help of SAME members and the Career Transition Workshop, he found a new career as a project manager at Tetra Tech.

Hispanic History Month is an opportunity to celebrate all Hispanics who teach, motivate, and inspire others through their shared heritage. “It can be your parents, a Hispanic teacher, a Hispanic Medal of Honor recipient, or anyone who impacts a Hispanic’s life and/or highlights our Hispanic heritage. HHM celebrates them … Those Hispanics in the past, present, and future of our great culture!”

Col. Fabian Mendoza, USA (Ret.)

Senior VP, Market Sector Leader, STV

Fabian attributes his four decades of serving the nation to his family and his faith and views Hispanic Heritage Month as an opportunity to share his “rich humble culture and highlight the accomplishments of Hispanics to our nation”. Growing up in the border town of Laredo, Texas, he never dreamed that he could have a successful career in engineering that has allowed him to see the world, learn other languages and solve complex problems in support of our national defense.

While in the Army, Fabian was deployed to Mosul, Iraq, as an Engineer Brigade Commander in the reconstruction efforts of that city. He is very proud of his team of Civil Affairs experts, Provincial Reconstruction professionals and soldiers that operated as the Mosul Reconstruction Cell. Together the team’s efforts unified government and provincial executive level stakeholders to design a cohesive and successful strategy for the reconstruction of Mosul. Simultaneously, the cell facilitated the design and construction of clinics, schools, roads and safety lighting in open air markets. Today, Fabian is still motivated by his personal efforts in support of national security and defense while working to connect the talents of SAME members to enhance DOD A/E/C objectives.