“Once a Lourdes girl, always a Lourdes girl” is a statement of pride that carries an important and immense responsibility – to use our gifts not only for our personal benefit but to uplift others and create the change we want to see in the world. Teri Arvesu, proud alumna of the class of 1995, took this mission to heart and has committed to living out its legacy every day and in all aspects of her life. Almost three decades later, she can add “Wonder Woman” (quite literally!) to this, as well as an impressive collection of Emmy’s and accolades honoring her outstanding contributions in the media industry.
The Wonder Woman award recognizes women executives in media and entertainment who have made a significant and lasting impact on both their companies and the industry. Teri was among 15 honorees and the sole Latina recipient of this prestigious award at the 2024 ceremony.
“It was probably the first time in my career that I actually took the time to reflect on the entirety of my career,” Teri said. “I’m not one to celebrate my wins often – I should do that more. We all should. I tend to look forward more than backward, staying focused on discovering and seizing the opportunities that God has sent me to serve Him in my career.”
In her speech, she took the opportunity to address the media executives in the room, noting the power of the media to connect communities and to right wrongs on a massive scale. She added an important call to action – to celebrate the inroads we have made in diversity both on and off screen, but Teri admits, there is still work to do.
Teri has worked at Univision, now TelevisaUnivision, for the last 22 years, rising through the ranks to eventually run the news departments in Miami and Chicago and, most recently, serve as the Senior Vice President of Social Impact and Sustainability, a corporate role overseeing Corporate Social Responsibility and Community Programs/Philanthropy, Employee Resource Groups and the Univision Foundation. Her passion for Journalism – and career – started as a student here at Lourdes.
“My first paid job in the business was during my junior year in high school [at Lourdes]. During Spring Break, I worked helping the producer of a telethon that used to air on Telemundo. That led to mentorships, internships, and paid projects that lasted all the way up to me getting my first full-time job during college at the network for an entertainment news show.”
In her current role , Teri led the strategy and execution of Vota Conmigo [Spanish for “Vote With Me”], the largest Spanish language voter education campaign that provided essential election information to Hispanic and Latino voters. The nonpartisan campaign reached 770 million media impressions and registered 1.3 million new voters ahead of the 2020 election. For the first time in 2024, other Spanish-language and bilingual media companies got involved.
“As the child of Cuban immigrants and having covered Latin American politics for so long, I deeply value democracy and understand its fragility,” Teri said.
It was Teri’s mom who helped, in her words, “connect the dots” on her career path. Realizing her love for reading, writing, and hearing stories could also result in a career path for me, she took her to watch a live newscast on Channel 7 when she was in 6th grade. That experience gave her a concrete image of the life she wanted and she began to make decisions about joining the newspaper, learning photography, and taking on externships that would give her the experience and the relationships in the business.
Beyond her career’s work, Teri is also in the early stages of writing a book. She offered a sneak peek, sharing that it is intended for young women 18-34 with a collection of stories and both research-based and anecdotal advice on the importance of building meaningful relationships and partnerships and creating opportunities to reflect on some of the societal expectations that might hold them back.
Teri’s advice to young women – “Be a life learner. Stay curious. The rate of change happening in our world due to technology is getting faster and faster. Your careers will change and evolve. Staying relevant and up to date needs to be prioritized as much as delivering on the day to day. Build that into your routine from day one.”
