Sergio Lopez brings to his role a deep understanding of the student experience at Santa Clara, both as an undergraduate and a graduate alum. As the first in his family to attend college, he majored in Math/Computer Science at SCU and worked as a software engineer for five years at IBM, in South San Jose, before pursuing his MBA at the Thunderbird School of Global Management, in Arizona. These experiences led him to Paris, France, for nearly five years, to manage international sales for a French software company. Upon his return to the Bay Area in 2001, serendipity and good fortune opened up an opportunity to volunteer his managerial, marketing and language skills at the Alexander Community Law Center, a legal clinic of Santa Clara Law, during his free time. Having rediscovered the Jesuit roots of his earlier education, he fell in love with the Law Center’s mission to help educate Santa Clara Law students while providing free legal services to the underserved communities in Santa Clara County.
After 17 years at the Law Center, Sergio spent six more in Development, SCU’s fundraising arm, where he supported most campus areas in their efforts to financially sustain the student experience through scholarships and programmatic support. Under his leadership as the Director of Annual Giving Strategies and through strong collaboration with faculty, staff, alumni, parents and students, many fundraising initiatives and efforts reached record levels of success and engagement to benefit the entire Bronco community.
In his current role, Sergio, who earned a Master’s degree in Educational Leadership from SCU’s School of Education and Counseling Psychology (ECP) in 2022, looks forward to serving the needs of individuals who are interested in making a difference in their communities as educators, school administrators, therapists, counselors, and social impact leaders. Thanks to his longstanding engagement with the community in various circles, both inside and outside SCU, Sergio has seen first-hand the impact that these professionals have on the well-being of individuals, families and entire communities - and this only deepens his commitment and passion for his current work.
On a personal level, Sergio also hopes to inspire others to defy, and even embrace, inhibiting challenges in the pursuit of graduate education. He is happy to answer any questions about ECP’s programs in Spanish, Portuguese and French.