Siena’s School of Business welcomed alumnus and former baseball player, Moises Rivera ’09 to speak at the latest Business Lecture Series.
Senior Sales Manager for Olympic Forest Products Company, Rivera returned to his alma mater to share his life story. Through his presentation,“Who Am I?” Rivera retold both the amazing memories and the immense hardships he faced while growing up that made him who he is today.
Growing up in New Paltz, New York, Rivera was a first generation Puerto Rican-American who came from an extremely loving and hardworking family. He spent a lot of his childhood with his grandparents while his parents worked to provide him a chance at the ‘American Dream.’
On top of his parent's influence, Rivera’s drive to succeed was developed through the bullying he experienced. Being from a Puerto-Rican and lower socioeconomic family, he was exposed to the ills of racism at a young age. Despite feeling the afflictions of bullying, he quickly turned himself into a leader — holding a position on the Board of Student Representatives and served as captain on his varsity baseball team in high school.
During his time as a Saint, Rivera excelled. He majored in Marketing and Management while also playing men’s Division I baseball—breaking Siena baseball records and making NCAA history with his team.
“I challenged myself to overcome, I have challenged myself to not make excuses, and I have challenged myself to be a better person.”
Rivera advised students to take advantage of the help and support that Siena offers, as it was through Siena Career Fair that he received his first position at Olympic. Rivera also made sure the audience knew the importance of humility, “No job is beneath you. Every opportunity is a stepping stone to success.”
Now, as a Senior Sales Manager in a national pallet/lumber brokerage firm, Rivera has not let his success destroy his humility, compassion, or drive to always be better. He continues to try new things in his life— one of his most recent adventures includes bodybuilding, where he has excelled and won competitions.
Rivera proves that starting small and from humble origins does not define you as a person or limit your possibilities for success. In his compelling life story, and the challenges that followed, Moises showed those in attendance that with hard work, kindness, and support from loved ones and school communities, there is so much to be accomplished.
