South County Profile: Eva Mendoza-Soza

EVA MENDOZA-SOZA

Eva Mendoza-Soza moved to the United States from Mexico at age 16.

She began working in a hotel as a maid to support herself while attending high school. After graduating from Aptos High School in 1975, she attended Cabrillo College where she majored in nursing and finances.

She then went to work for fashion designer Christin Damen, and helped design clothing that was comfortable and helped people feel good about themselves. Mendoza-Soza helped the company grow from three employees to 20 in two years and a financial success of $75,000 per year to $2 million per year in sales. Garments made by the company were sold worldwide.

Mendoza-Soza lived in Santa Cruz for 33 years. She worked with one of the first soccer leagues in Santa Cruz for the local youth and held rodeos and dinners to do fundraisers for the league. In 1990, Mendoza-Soza helped to start the first adult soccer league in Santa Cruz, called Liga Unida, which translates to League United. The soccer league brought in players from around the world as far away as Argentina, Mexico, Spain, Italy and throughout the United States.

When Mendoza-Soza moved to Shasta County in 2000, it was so that the family could have a change of pace. Mendoza-Soza took some finance classes, got her notary license and started her own mortgage company and Latino tax franchise which services much of the Latino population around the state. She also handles all types of financial transfer services, is familiar with the Patrick Act and knows all about anti-laundering regulations.

Mendoza-Soza works 78 to 82 hours a week. She loves her job and everything that comes along with it. Mendoza-Soza travels quite a bit, working overseas, around different parts of the United States working with North American Free Trade Agreements and Free Trade Regulations. She also spends many hours in the office going from one project to the other. At some point, Mendoza-Soza would like to open an office in Watsonville and have her sons run the office here in Anderson. Eventually, she would like to retire and move back to Puerto Vallarta where she could oversee the family's sugar cane fields.

Mendoza-Soza's biggest goal is to see someone else succeed in life.

Name: Eva Mendoza-Soza.

Born where and when: Mexico, 1957.

Occupation: Mortgage broker and financial services.

Marital Status: Married to husband Cruz for 20 years.

Family: My husband Cruz, sons Carlos and Jonny, and daughter Endeliza.

Pets: A dog named Ebony.

My worst job: Working as a maid in a hotel.

My first job: Working as an Italian shirt designer.

In my spare time I: Watch Soccer.

My favorite book: Celestine Prophecy.

My favorite movie; Father of the Bride.

My favorite recording artist: Kenny Rogers.

My dream car: A 1963 Porsche.

My friends like me because: I am always happy.

If stranded on a deserted island, I would want: Lotion.

The one thing in life I've learned is: Not to lie.

The best advice my parents gave me: Work hard and respect others.

My most embarrassing moment: When I was 17 years old, I went for on a date and had to borrow a pair of shoes from a friend. The shoes were a size 8 and my feet were a size 6. I had to hold them on with rubber bands.

My most irrational moment was: Coming to the USA at age 16 by myself.

My most valued material possession: My family.

My hero is: My grandfather.

My fantasy is: To drive a motorcycle to Peru and visit the different cities.

If I could change one thing about myself, I would: Stop enjoying wine.