Business View Magazine - May 2024

college’s reach and enrollment reflect its status as a core institution and as a workforce and cultural engine for Miami-Dade County. The numbers tell a story from the outside, but a step inside the inner workings of this cutting-edge college tells a far brighter story. With around 300 distinct degree pathways and one of the most diverse student demographics in the country, Miami Dade College is a place “where everyone comes to get an opportunity to achieve the American Dream,” says MDC President Madeline Pumariega. “We don’t teach to the sky,” says Pumariega, the first female president appointed to one of the nation’s largest educational institutions. “We teach exactly the skills that [employers] need students to have. Fundamentally, students come to college to get a job.” A CUTTING-EDGE IDEA CENTER Alejandro Gonzalez is the executive director of the idea center at Miami Dade College. It’s his job to oversee the college’s hub for entrepreneurship and innovation. And Gonzalez’s efforts begin with an analysis of the economic makeup in Miami-Dade County. “We look at our work by first looking at the customers we serve,” explains Gonzalez. “We serve first and foremost our students here at the college. We also serve our employees, and we serve small business owners in the community.” Gonzalez stresses that small business owners are the backbone of Miami-Dade County. About 90% of the county’s businesses employ less than 10 people, Gonzalez says, and, on top of that, 75% of small business owners in Miami-Dade County are immigrants. In other words, that’s nearly $3 billion in economic output coming from first- or second- generation Americans realizing their dreams. With such a vast pool of talented entrepreneurs, it’s up to Gonzalez and MDC to shape the next wave of small-business owners. Over the last few years, around 500 students have filed through the idea center at Miami Dade College, and that number is growing. 53 BUSINESS VIEW MAGAZINE VOLUME 11, ISSUE 05 MIAMI DADE COLLEGE