Angela Cruz Is Named Middlesex College’s 2025 Alumna of the Year

“I’m very fond of the college. I have other family members that have also gone to Middlesex for their education, and, for me, it’s such an honor and a privilege,” noted Angela Cruz while discussing being named alumna of the year.

Cruz serves as Global Campaign Enablement Lead for Sales Excellence at Accenture, a global professional services company specializing in information technology services and management consulting.

Cruz moved to Perth Amboy, New Jersey, from the Dominican Republic as a high school junior. While other girls her age were preparing for prom and signing yearbooks, Cruz dedicated herself to chemistry, physics, and trigonometry. In just two years, despite feeling out of place in American culture and knowing very little English, she graduated in the top 15 of nearly 700 students at Perth Amboy High School.

Cruz ultimately chose to attend Middlesex College on the strong recommendations of her guidance counselors for the College’s affordability, flexibility, and resources.

At Middlesex College, she studied electrical engineering, joined the Phi Theta Kappa honor society, and served as president of the Hispanic American Club.

“The Hispanic American Club is what allowed me to make community and to feel at home,” shares Cruz. “I met other immigrants that were like me, that came [to the country] around the same time and were going through the same struggle. We would support each other. One of the great things about a community college is the cohesiveness, the smaller classes, the more personal aspect.”

Cruz worked as an engineer after earning an internship with AT&T while attending Middlesex College. Wanting a change after 13 years of working as an engineer, she decided to pivot to marketing and sales when an opportunity arose. This move opened up a whole different world, and Cruz went on to obtain leadership roles at companies like Lucent Technologies, Avaya, and Cisco.

“I have a very outgoing personality so I always wondered about marketing and sales,” says Cruz. “I had already made the mental shift that I was looking for a change like everything in life. You know, you just have to declare it and somehow the opportunities come up, and that’s what happened there. I didn’t have experience, but I did have the willingness to learn, and I was given an opportunity by someone who believed in me.”

Cruz is a 2019 Mujer Inspiración (“Women Who Inspire”) Perla de Esperanza Foundation award recipient, 2021 Top 50 IT Executives in Latin America and Iberia from the Hispanic IT Executive Council (HITEC), and Board Chair for a Miami non-profit community organization. When asked what qualities make a great leader, Cruz said the most important thing is authenticity. She credits her flexibility, empathy, meaningful connections and strong moral values as the foundation of her leadership success.

“At the end of the day, you go from one company to the next, and the money goes away. The only thing that sticks is your reputation and the relationships you build will be the lasting legacy of your career journey,” said Cruz. “In every company that I’ve been in, I’ve been a part of employee resource groups. I’ve always had a leadership position in those groups, and it all started at Middlesex.”

Even though she has lived in Miami for 25 years, Cruz’s roots remain in Middlesex County. Her entire family, including her grandmother, who is 101 years old, still lives in the area, which she visits at least four times each year.

Cruz strongly advocates for the value of community college for people of all backgrounds. She continues to promote its benefits, which have supported her education and that of her children. Cruz takes immense pride in championing her two sons, whom she raised on her own and both of whom graduated from community college and have built successful careers.

“Only in a community college do you get the guidance and patience,” said Cruz. “In my case, they had the patience and the commitment to help me work through all this period of not being clear on what direction I wanted to take. And they guided me in the right direction every time. It took longer than I, or anyone expected. But at the same time, it’s not a race. It’s a journey. I don’t know if I was as wise at the time to say it like this—but I did have the maturity to value and appreciate that in the environment of the community college.”

Cruz will deliver her remarks to the Class of 2025 at Commencement on May 13, 2025, at Jersey Mike’s Arena at the Rutgers Athletic Center in Piscataway, New Jersey. For more information about the 2025 Commencement Ceremony, visit middlesexcollege.edu/commencement/.