Scott, Sara, Mike, Giovanna, Octavio, and Irasema

This month, we celebrated National Hispanic Heritage Month! This United States based holiday runs from September 15 to October 15, including the independence days for Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Mexico, and Chile, as well as Indigenous Peoples Day. We honor and celebrate our Hispanic team members and asked a few to share with us what their culture means to them.

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Scott Morgan

Global Systems and Quality manager, Divisions

What is your Cook Story?
I started at Cook back in 2012 after wrapping up engineering graduate school in Texas. My first position was in the Engineering Testing Lab at P48, but since then I’ve been a remediation/sustaining engineer, worked as part of Cook Inc’s corrective action plan specifically focused on document and change control, and lead the initial roll out of Agile Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) for Cook Inc. Most recently, I took a position in the divisions as a Global Systems and Quality manager, which is a fancy way of saying that I do continuous improvement projects for both the Vascular and MedSurg divisions.

What are you passionate about outside of work?
My daughter, Katerina, was born in 2020 so my biggest passion right now is taking care of her and watching her grow and learn. Outside of that, I spend time working around my house, reading, and (pre-Covid) love to travel when time allows. I also spend a lot of my spare time training in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu at the Razzano Academy, a local gym in Bloomington.

What is one thing about your cultural background or heritage that you want people to know?
Most folks who just know me from work may be wondering why I’m on this for Hispanic Heritage Month. I was even specifically asked to help with this blog entry because I don’t “look the part” but I’m half Hispanic. My mom comes from a giant (10 brothers and sisters), south Texas Hispanic family. Lately, I’ve been active in some of the Divisional diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives and have focused on topics that highlight individuals who may not be what they seem at first glance. I’ve tried to use that as a way to dive a bit more into the Hispanic side of my heritage, practice a little Spanish (it’s still terrible), and celebrate that particular part of who I am.

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Sara Abanto

Ethics & Compliance (E&C) specialist, EMEA

What is your Cook Story?
I joined Cook in April 2017 as part of the EMEA E&C team. My current role is E&C specialist. Along with the compliance tasks, I also administrate the EMEA Grants and Donations program. These have been four years of continuous learning and positive experiences. I’m currently pursuing a master’s degree in Compliance so I can give my best to my role.

What are you passionate about outside of work?
Many things. I love long walks, cooking, travelling, reading, watching documentaries, and politics. I enjoy everything I do, and I’m thankful for each opportunity life presents. While many of these hobbies were affected by the pandemic restrictions, the situation opened new doors and an appreciation for things that I took for granted. For example, like walking at the highest point of the restrictions within the permitted ratio (5Km) was like a gift! I now venture sometimes for long walks around the cliffs of Moher or Doolin (West Coast of Ireland). The scenery is breathtaking. I have read a few books that were on my waiting list for a long time, and I have also done some gardening. One thing for sure, I always have my Latin music in the background! I also love having friends over for dinner or barbeques. I’m originally from Peru; cooking is a sport for us.

As I said before, I enjoy travelling. I have lived in four different countries, and I find it fascinating to learn from other cultures and share mine as well. In the last 18 months, I have had the opportunity to explore and discover Ireland more than I did before. Once this pandemic is over and it’s safe, I will take the first flight to see my family and friends in Peru whom I haven’t seen and hugged in what feels like almost two years!

What is one thing about your cultural background or heritage that you want people to know?
I was born in Lima, Peru, the country of the Incas. My family comes from the northern part of the country from a city named Cajamarca, where the Incas were arrested by the Spanish conquerors who later took possession of the territory more than 500 years ago. I grew up admiring the mixture of both cultures.

Peru is known for the Inca city Machu Pichu in Cusco. The region’s varied landscapes and climates go from white sandy beaches in the Pacific coast, to snowy mountains in the highland, and from the magical Amazonas, to the “Altiplano” (high plain, at 4000 meters above sea level) where Lake Titicaca, the highest navigable lake in the world and the largest in South America, is located. Our diversity, however, goes beyond our natural resources. We have a rich culture as a result of the blending of our native population with the immigration from Asia, Europe, and Africa which is reflected in our people, architecture, traditions, dances, music, and food.

For Peruvians, as for most of the Latin-American culture, food is the center of our social and family life; we show our appreciation by cooking. We might have a different dish per every day of the year, and nothing goes better with Peruvian food than a nice Pisco Sour (made from white grapes, lime juice, sugar, and ice). Salud!

I would encourage you to put Peru on your bucket list. Enjoy our food and the scenery, but most importantly, the warm welcoming of its people.

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Mike Sepulveda

District manager, Critical Care

What is your Cook Story?
I started with Cook in Critical Care in September of 2000. I have held the district manager position in Arizona since then. I have also contributed as a Critical Care field manager in Mexico for the past six plus years, working with our Cook distributors in product and sales training as well as physician training through Vista courses.

What are you passionate about outside of work?
I would say that over the course of my life I have developed a real passion for medical missionary work. I did a volunteer vaccination program in 1980, in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. It was quite a powerful experience for me. Ever since then, I’ve been involved with various medical missionary groups and have helped with planning, coordination, and execution of various missions in numerous locations. I have participated with medical mission groups in Dominican Republic, Brazil, Bolivia, Peru, Philippines, El Salvador, Mexico, and Nicaragua.

The sense of gratification and inspiration that one gets after completing the long process of planning and executing one of these humanitarian missions is deeply profound. What I also find so rewarding is the camaraderie that is developed from working so closely with the whole volunteer team, which usually includes surgeons/physicians, anesthesiologists, nurses, techs, translators, and all other support staff that make up the mission team, as well as the host hospital counterparts of our team members. On top of working together every day, the team also lives amongst each other at the same hotel for one to two weeks. By the end of a mission, many strong bonds and friendships are made among team members and the host hospital staff. Many of the volunteers continue going on mission trips year after year. I am grateful for all the many great personal friendships that I’ve made and the many wonderful memories from all the mission trips over the years.

What is one thing about your cultural background or heritage that you want people to know?
I am writing this in recognition of Hispanic Heritage Month. I am a Mexican American. I was born in the United States, the descendant of Mexican immigrant great grandparents.

Many times I am referred to demographically as “Latino or Hispanic.” These terms are used to include all individuals with family origins from any of the different Latin American countries. Although most of us with “Hispanic” roots may share the same language and some cultural similarities, we are uniquely different as well, based on country of origin, history, and local or familial cultural traditions. We are diverse, historically, racially, ethnically, and culturally.

Since the birth of our nation, over time, many immigrants from many different countries have settled here in the U.S., and along with their descendants, collectively have formed our diverse U.S. population. A similar evolution has taken place in many Latin American countries as well.

Through my travels with medical mission work in the different Latin American countries, I have seen these differences and uniqueness of cultures myself. Even within a given country, there can be many ethnicities with their own unique historical, cultural, and language differences very much like it is here in our country. It is really quite fascinating.

I am proud to be part of a company like Cook that values diversity in all forms, in our workforce and the customers and patients that we serve.

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Giovanna “Gio” Avilés

Senior District manager, Critical Care

What is your Cook Story?
I’m a senior district manager for Critical Care and reside in Miami, Florida. I’ve been with Cook for 13 years and loving it! One of my good friends referred me to Cook, and I’ve been here ever since (unfortunately, she’s not). I’ve had the opportunity to work as a district manager in the south Florida area, but I also have been a sales representative in South America with Gilbert Lozano.

What are you passionate about outside of work?
Passionate about?! Funny, Hispanics are passionate—PERIOD! Passion is our language; we speak to each other through the use of our hands. We love our food, rice, beans, and a protein, like pork or steak. Our family loves soccer. My three children all play, and my two eldest play soccer competitively. Currently, my eldest daughter plays soccer for the Puerto Rican Youth National Team (my husband is from Puerto Rico). The team has been doing an amazing job, and I look forward to her growth and development.

What is one thing about your cultural background or heritage that you want people to know?
Wow! This question is loaded. Well, I definitely would like them to know that not all Hispanics are Mexican! While I am Mexican/Cuban, Hispanics are often mistaken as all Mexicans. The Hispanic community bonds in the passion we have for each of our respective cultures. Hispanics reside in South America and in the Caribbean, not just in Mexico. We all love our culture, and culinary experiences, but the one thing that is extremely important to all of us is our FAMILY and faith!

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Octavio Gracia

Senior Product manager, Endoscopy

What is your Cook Story?
I have been with Cook now for eight years. I started as an Endoscopy district manager in the state of Arizona. After three years, I relocated to Winston-Salem, North Carolina, (home of Cook Endoscopy) and became a product manager over the biliary therapy portfolio. I am now a senior product manager, working with our US Endoscopy product management (PM) team.

What are you passionate about outside of work?
I would have to start with my family. I am married to a lovely wife and have two daughters, ages 6 and 15, who are very different. This makes it very fun. As a family we love to travel; this could be anything from a weekend trip to a longer overseas trip. When we travel, we love to explore different cultures and especially to eat good food. Many times we plan our trips around food. This being said I also enjoy working out because I love to eat!!!

What is one thing about your cultural background or heritage that you want people to know?
Let me start by saying that I was born in Nogales, a small border town in the state of Sonora in Mexico. I love staying connected to my culture and country. I still have family in Mexico, and we love to go visit them. We also love traveling in the southern part of Mexico, which has some of the best food in the entire country. There is so much richness in the southern part of Mexico when it comes to food, culture, and people. One thing about my cultural background that is important to me is the language. Outside of work, my interactions are all in Spanish. This is interesting because I dream in Spanish and think in Spanish. When having a conversation, I sometimes am thinking of words in Spanish and have to translate them to English. Muchas gracias!!

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Irasema Rivera

Regulatory Affairs specialist, Critical Care

What is your Cook Story?
I am a Regulatory Affairs specialist supporting the Critical Care division with airway, drainage, and gastroenterology devices. I am very proud of the products I support. Prior to joining Cook, I taught at Indiana University (IU) and worked in public programs at the cusp of health and education. 

What are you passionate about outside of work?
When not in work-mode, you’ll catch me making functional pottery, tending to an urban edible garden, or making a mess in the kitchen. In the pottery studio, I aim to make ordinary items that are pleasing to hold and touch. In an effort to live a more environmentally sustainable life, I merged my superpowers (more like super attempts) in gardening and the kitchen to grow, source, and preserve local food for year-round consumption. Though historically I’ve taken on food projects that render immediate satisfaction, food preservation has led me down a rabbit hole of making herb, spice, and tea blends, kimchi and krauts, all of the pickles, and cider. At the end of the day, few things bring me more joy than baking and sharing pie. 

What is one thing about your cultural background or heritage that you want people to know?
Delight is a universal desire.

Additional resources

You can check out the links below to learn more about Hispanic Heritage Month!

Heritage and History Month Events

“Hispanic” vs. “Latino”: When To Use Each Term

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This blog was created in collaboration with the Ethnic Minorities @ Cook Business Resource Group (formerly known as People of Color BRG).