No joke: He’s graduating

Jorge Mendoza thought he was only joking when he told his then-girlfriend, now-wife, “Maybe one day I’ll go to school at Harvard.”

Years later, the joke, he’s happy to report, is on him.

“It actually came true!” says Mendoza, who graduated this week with a Bachelor’s in Liberal Arts in Extension Studies with a concentration on business administration and management.

Born in Colombia and raised in New York City, Mendoza joined Harvard as a custodial supervisor in 2018. Soon after, he enrolled at Harvard Extension School to pick up where prior college studies left off.

“To see the finish line, it’s unbelievable because it seemed so far,” said Mendoza, a 39-year-old father of two. “I’ve been in management for a very long time, so being able to do my business degree and knowing that this is what I want to do careerwise, it just made sense for me.”

“Jorge was one of those students who just came in and I saw determination to leave no stone unturned.”

Jill Slye

The six-year journey was far from easy. With help from Harvard’s Tuition Assistance Program, Mendoza immediately began to “chip away” at coursework, taking two courses per semester and a few over several summers. Two offerings on public speaking taught by Jill Slye were among his favorites.

Slye, in turn, praised Mendoza for his academic efforts.

“There are always students who tend to give off an energy that they are fully committed, right from the get-go,” she said. “They come into the class dedicated, open-minded, and nothing’s going to get in their way of learning. Jorge was one of those students who just came in and I saw determination to leave no stone unturned.”

Being a full-time employee and part-time student at Harvard offered Mendoza “insider knowledge” in his classes, he said. This spring Mendoza took an architecture class that incorporated a large number of buildings on campus, many of them familiar from his 9-to-5.

“Other people are joining the class from around the world,” he said. “They might be able to see pictures online and take some virtual tours. But to be able to be on campus, walk through or by the buildings, and even manage some of them gives you a unique [perspective],” he said.

Mendoza briefly considered skipping Commencement because it’s typically just another day on the job. “Then I really started getting excited about it.”

The only downside to being an employee who also takes classes is that you might not fully register the joy of being a Harvard student, Mendoza said. In fact, he briefly considered skipping Commencement because it’s typically just another day on the job.

But his mother and sisters told him that they wanted to be a part of the tradition, and his wife challenged his lack of enthusiasm. “Then I really started getting excited about it, and I said, ‘You know what? This is different. This is my Commencement. This is what I’ve worked so hard for,’” he said.

He’s also worked hard to serve as a role model to his kids.

“I want them to be able to say, ‘My dad finished while we were here,’” he said. “’He did it with kids and a family.”’

And that’s one big reason he’s not done yet. Mendoza has his eyes on a new goal: a master’s in liberal arts in sustainability from the Extension School.

“I hope to continue to grow academically, because I love to learn,” he said. “I want to go back to focus on sustainability. It’s a focus of the University and of the world. It is something I want to focus on to grow and develop in my career and to continue to make an impact.”