FIYou: Melissa Puente ’02

Name: Melissa Puente ’02

Hometown: Miami, Fla.

Job Title/Department: Coordinator, Community Relations

Campus: Modesto A. Maidique Campus

In a nutshell: I coordinate events for FIU’s President’s Council and other community related organizations. I am part of the team that helps engage the community.

Number of years at FIU: I spent four years here as a student, then went away to law school at FSU and recently came back to work here.

What do you enjoy most about your job?

Getting to meet tons of new people.

What do you think faculty/staff and students should know about your department?

We are constantly working with community leaders in order to bridge the gap and strengthen ties between FIU and the community.

Where is your favorite spot on campus? Why?

Outside the entrance to the Graham Center. If you look to your left or to your right or straight ahead you can see the many stages of FIU and how much it has grown since Primera Casa.

If there is one thing you wish everyone knew about FIU, what would it be?

We have grown a lot over the years and now we are getting better and stronger.

Family snapshot:

My father is Cuban and my mother is American, from Texas, so I am a true Cuban-American. I am the eldest of two children: my brother, Justin Puente, is also an FIU alumnus who graduated in 2005. He is an accountant at my father’s CPA firm and has a 14-month-old daughter, Victoria, who stole my heart the day she was born. My boyfriend, Benny Gonzalez, is also an alumnus. He graduated from FIU in 2003 and was a member of the Sigma Alpha Mu fraternity. He recently received his MBA from the University of Florida and has been working for Wachovia for more than 10 years.

Word that best describes you: Caring.

First paying job: Answering phones at my father’s firm when I was in high school.

Favorite TV show: “Top Chef.”

Your proudest accomplishment:

Graduating from law school.

What do you do when you are not working at FIU?

Cooking for friends, riding bikes with my boyfriend, taking naps with my niece, tailgating and spending time at my family’s house in the Keys.