Juan Gonzalez - Vice President, Key Bank
Country of Origin: Colombia
When Juan Gonzalez’s testimonial appeared in 2007’s New Faces at the Crossroads, the then-Fifth Third Bank Assistant Vice President stressed the need for an increase in global awareness in Indiana, which he suggested could be implemented in the education of young people in schools. As a native Colombian, Gonzalez, who is now a vice president at Key Bank, believes many people in America take the privileges of the American lifestyle for granted.
“It’s just the concept of being free to do whatever you want,” Gonzalez said. “In some places in the world, it is not safe to do many of the things we do here without thinking. That is hard for people to understand without having traveled.”
Since 2007, the United States and the world have had to weather an economic recession which has affected the international marketplace in Indiana. For this reason, Gonzalez believes the need for global awareness he expressed in 2007 becomes even more critical as time goes on.
“I think if anything, the recession has actually shown the value of Indianapolis,” Gonzalez said. “The marketplace here is still in pretty good shape, and we still are a very welcoming city. I know Indianapolis is working to make it more appealing to the next generation of workers and families.”
Gonzalez pointed to some of the changes in educational policies that have taken place since 2007 as proof of the city’s adaptation to a more international workforce.
“It’s not just the International School anymore – IPS has several magnets with the International Baccalaureate program,” Gonzalez said.
As the president-elect for a group called the Society of Friends of Colombia (SADCO), Gonzalez said he has seen firsthand how international professionals who come to Indianapolis have started to see the city differently than in years past.
“Many of [the members of the Society] are professionals who came here for a job and they stayed as opposed to leaving as soon as their contract was up,” Gonzalez said. “Coming to Indiana was a successful transition for them, and this became their home. So you see more young professionals coming either for a job or for education, and that trend continues: American Universities are recruiting very heavily in Latin America in general, and in Colombia in particular.”
One example of the increased American interest in Latin America which Gonzalez mentioned is a partnership between Purdue University and several universities in Colombia called the Colombia-Purdue Institute for Advanced Scientific Research (CPIASR).
Although Gonzalez was encouraged by the increase in educational and business relationships between Indiana and Latin America in particular, he said he also has noticed a negative change in some of the perceptions and attitudes about Latin America since 2007.
“What has changed lately is how the issue of immigration is viewed today as opposed to in 2007,” Gonzalez said. “At the time of the book’s release, there was a lot of hope for immigration reform, but things have gotten more polarized since then.But I’m also hopeful that we will get back to the way it was before. I’m not sure people realize that by 2020, 25% of Americans will be Latino.”
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