It was his love for soccer that made Joel Valdovinos enroll at San Diego City College more than 20 years ago. His high school soccer coach, Milton Hidalgo, was going to start teaching at SDCC, so Valdovinos decided to follow him.

It was also, in part, his love for soccer that during his second year at the college, he decided to major in civil engineering.
“During my second year at San Diego City College I knew I wanted to study civil engineering since the career provided certain components that were in my list of likes,” Valdovinos said. “For example, prepare the plans (design), work in and out of the office, work as part of a team (just like soccer), and the bonus was the high paying career.

More than 20 years later, after transferring and graduating from San Diego State University, and after founding his own company, CValdo Corporation, Valdovinos has received two recognitions from his alma mater, San Diego City College: Recognition Award for Exemplary Performance by a Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) and Recognition Award for Exemplary Performance by a Minority Business Enterprise (MBE).

CValdo Corporation, based in the Morena District, is a planning and design civil engineering firm with expertise in public works, drainage and flood control, water quality, commercial development and residential development.

Valdovinos was recognized by campus project managers throughout the SDCCD, and is honored for his “excellent work and great attitude” as part of its first annual Contractor Recognition Program, honoring four small businesses for exemplary performance, and four construction management and professional services firms for exemplary practices in small business outreach and engagement.

Brought on to work on a storm water pollution prevention plan at City College in collaboration with an existing civil engineer and project design team, the CValdo team was acknowledged for its professionalism, attention to detail and follow-through.

“The work was done before I knew it, and the task completed correctly. I remember thinking that I wished all civil engineers were this way,” noted City College Campus Project Manager Tom Fine.

For Valdovinos, receiving these awards give him “a very rewarding feeling to know that the hard work and effort that is placed on the preparing of construction documents and the coordination involved with the many trades is recognized by our client.”

The District’s five Recognition Awards for small and historically underutilized businesses (S/HUBE) acknowledge excellence in each nominated firm’s respective discipline or skillset, and in their performance on Propositions S and N projects. Award recipients demonstrate adherence to the District’s design, building, and safety standards, assure on-time delivery within budget, and compliance with all regulatory requirements.

“It is always a pleasure to work with civil engineers that understand their business,” said David Umstot, vice chancellor of Facilities Management for the San Diego Community College District. “CValdo has performed exemplarily on a number of storm water engineering projects for us during the past two years. We are pleased to recognize them for their ‘can do’ attitude and contributing to our bond program infrastructure build out necessary to support our educational mission.”
Valdovinos said that, having graduated from San Diego High School and then attending San Diego City College, he is a product of barrio schools.

“I attended the local barrio schools where studying was definitely not a priority, but thank God to my parents that showed me and my siblings about respect to others, good manners, and to focus on completing our homework, that was a must in our house,” Valdovinos said. “I strongly believe this strong background has carried me to where I am now.”

He said that his advice for young Latinos who are thinking of going into civil engineering is not to be afraid of higher education.

“ The first thing that I share is that college is like high school, that there are many ways to pay for college, and that going to college is a very unique experience,” Valdovinos said. “Not to mention the great benefits they will obtain once they graduate, socially and financially.”

Valdovinos said that his experience working for the San Diego Community College District has been great, just like the three years he spent as a student and soccer player there more than 20 years ago.

“We are more than thankful for the opportunity and to show that our local people can come all the way around and give back to our community in many different ways”, he said.