Nataly Diaz Ortega (MBA’24)
Co-Vice President, Barney Ford Scholarship Fundraiser
Working hard is a value Nataly Diaz Ortega learned early.
Nataly’s parents—“the hardest workers I know,” she calls them—immigrated to Colorado from Mexico, working blue-collar jobs and making sacrifices so that their oldest daughter could study marketing at CU Denver.
It’s a model she’s emulated every day. Because she was such a good student and aced so many Advanced Placement exams in high school, she earned enough college credits—and scholarship support—to complete her bachelor’s degree in three years. And even though she had a job offer on the table, she made the unusual decision to instead enroll in the full-time Leeds MBA, even as she supports herself by working two jobs on the side.
“Because of COVID, I didn’t feel I was ready for the real world just yet,” Nataly said. “I always wanted to get an MBA, and I was familiar with the CU ecosystem, so just figured I would do it while I was still in that student mindset.”
Finding a way to give back
One thing that’s been a revelation—and she’s had more than a few, as the youngest person in her MBA cohort—is that graduate scholarships are much harder to come by. That’s why when her packed schedule only allowed her to pick two extracurricular activities, one of them became the , which provides scholarships that promote diversity within Leeds’ MBA program.
“As a first-gen student, scholarships that promoted diversity really helped me get through undergrad and overcome some of the imposter syndrome I felt,” she said. “I consider myself lucky in that my MBA cohort is pretty diverse, but I can see how our community as a whole need to do better—and this kind of scholarship can create awareness and be part of that solution.”
And while her classmates may have more professional experience than she does, Nataly understands, and is passionate about, work that supports diversity and equity. She’s volunteered with Tax Help Colorado getting an IRS certification in order to help Hispanic taxpayers file their returns, and has tutored through the I Have a Dream Foundation of Boulder County.
“Through this scholarship, I’ve found there are a lot of people who care about diversity—you just have to offer them ways to help.”
Nataly Diaz Ortega (MBA’24)
As co-vice president of marketing, Nataly is helping drive participation and donations for the 30th annual Barney Ford Diversity Scholarship Fundraiser, taking place in early March. Something that’s surprised her about her work on behalf of the event is just how willing people are to support the cause.
“You see a lot of organizations that talk about how they want more diversity without really doing anything about it,” Nataly said. “Through this scholarship, I’ve found there are a lot of people who care about diversity—you just have to offer them ways to help.”
The event also has connected back to her classes, and have made conversations about diversity and equity in business “feel more real and applicable,” especially conversations related to inequalities at work and how leaders can be more sensitive to matters of diversity.
Challenged by her cohort
As mentioned, Nataly is the youngest in her cohort, which includes established professionals, teachers, doctors, engineers and so on. And while she was at first intimidated by their experience, she’s learned to use it to her advantage as she chases a career in sports and entertainment marketing.
“They push me to do better, and hold me to a higher standard,” she said. “I feel like I have to prove myself more, being so much younger than my classmates, but they have made it a great learning experience for me.”
She actually got into sports marketing by accident, agreeing to take some new classes her advisors were offering while she was finishing her work at CU Denver.
“It sounded like something different to build out my résumé,” Nataly said. “But I quickly realized how much fun those industries are. There’s so much creativity and competitiveness.”
And, speaking of creativity and competition, her big professional goal is to be part of a team that develops an ad that airs during the Super Bowl: “My family is all big sports fans, especially soccer and football. I love the Super Bowl, but I could talk to you for hours about the commercials.”
She’s had plenty of professional exposure in this space—including service with the Denver Women’s Sports Collective, which promotes networking and career advancement for women in sports—but Nataly also realized how much relationships come into play in such a competitive field. It’s why she’s happy she is studying at ýĻƷ.
“I didn’t have much of a network in the field, and Boulder has connections everywhere,” she said. “But on top of that, having to figure out the time management piece of it has helped me understand my priorities and focus. I want to work in this field because it’s fun, but I also want to make money so I can help my parents retire and get the rest that they deserve.”