The 2022 Elon graduate from Garner, N.C., will serve a two-year term on the Elon University Board of Trustees.
The Elon University Board of Trustees has elected 2022 graduate Jovani Mendez-Sandoval to a two-year term as a youth trustee on the board.
Originally from Garner, N.C., Mendez-Sandoval was an Isabella Cannon Leadership Fellow and Odyssey Program scholar during his time at Elon. He majored in business administration and economic consulting, with minors in accounting and leadership studies. A researcher as an undergraduate, he worked with former Assistant Professor Carmen Monico and Associate Professor Vanessa Bravo to analyze the conditions at U.S. immigrant detention centers to better understand the overall well-being of immigrants housed there.
An active student leader, Mendez-Sandoval was a resident assistant and a diversity, equity and inclusion ambassador for the Martha and Spencer Love School of Business. A member of La Unidad Latina and the Lambda Upsilon Fraternity, Mendez-Sandoval also served in executive positions with the Elon Consulting Club and with the Project Management Club. As a senior, he was presented with the Love School of Business Responsible Leadership Award and with the Student Achievement in Economic Consulting Award.
Beyond Elon, Mendez-Sandoval worked with the Alamance Chamber to facilitate Alamance Youth Leadership Academy workshops for middle-school students to help them identify their own leadership potential and learn how to empower others. In 2020, he was named a Newman Civic Fellow by N.C. Campus Compact (now N.C. Campus Engagement) in recognition of his extensive service to the university and the broader community as well as his development as a leader.
Mendez-Sandoval is now enrolled in the Master of Accounting Program at N.C. State University and will join PwC upon graduation. He joins Chandler Vaughan ‘21 as the second youth trustee on the board and will serve through May 2024.