Thunderbird at ASU grad finds voice on TEDx stage
Melisa Torres Mejía during her TEDx talk, "Turning Ordinary Water into Extraordinary Innovation." Photo courtesy of Thunderbird School of Global Management.
Editor’s note: This story is part of a series of profiles of notable spring 2026 graduates.
Melisa Torres Mejía stood on the TEDx MissionParkRanch stage delivering her first public talk in English, something she had never done before.
Months earlier, the idea alone felt intimidating.
But when her Thunderbird Career Coach Glen Loveland encouraged her to apply and connected her with the event’s organizers, Torres Mejía took the leap. The selection process took about four months, followed by three additional months of intense preparation.
To prepare, she committed herself to the experience, which is something that would define her time at Thunderbird School of Global Management at Arizona State University.
“No matter how demanding my schedule was, I practiced every day. I would rehearse late at night, recording myself on my phone, and improving continuously until I felt truly confident,” she said.
For Torres Mejía, who grew up in Bucaramanga, Colombia, that moment onstage reflected years of persistence.
Long before Thunderbird, she launched her bottled water company, VIOX, with no external resources in a highly competitive and concentrated market. Through product innovation that involved enhancing the water with higher oxygen levels, as well as utilizing a differentiated business model, she carved out space in an industry with thin margins. Eventually, she scaled the company nationally, attracting investors and building strong customer loyalty.
“In the talk, I was able to share my 13-year experience as an entrepreneur. TEDx became a moment where everything came together — my story, my struggles and the lessons I learned along the way,” she said.
Her story continued to evolve at Thunderbird, where she pursued a Master of Global Management with a concentration in data science, which was a specialty she embarked on without a technical background. Now, she hopes to continue work in this field.
“I aim to work at the intersection of operations, finance and data analytics, which is an area where I’ve built strong experience through Thunderbird’s integrated approach to business and data science,” she said.
As she anticipates walking onto another stage this spring on graduation day, Torres Mejía is more than prepared and eager for the future.
“For me, none of this was ever about being the most talented person in the room,” she said. “It was about showing up every day, doing the work and believing that even if you start from zero, you can build something meaningful.”
Question: What professor taught you the most important lesson while at Thunderbird?
Answer: I built especially meaningful relationships with a few professors through my work as a Principled Innovation Fellow in AI. One of them is Professor Preethika Sainam, who gave me my first opportunity to collaborate on research as a volunteer. I’m deeply grateful for her trust, especially because I was just beginning my journey in data science and actively looking for ways to gain hands-on experience.
I also had the privilege of working closely with Professor Shirley-Ann Behravesh as both a research assistant and teaching assistant. We co-authored a case study that took us to Saint Lucia for field research and was later awarded the New Voice Award at the third annual Thunderbird AI Conference, and is currently under consideration for publication. Beyond these achievements, what truly impacted me was her mentorship. Every working session became a lesson not only in research, but in life.
Professor Susan Harmeling also significantly shaped my entrepreneurial mindset through her teaching style, her Socratic method and the life lessons she shared with us. And Professor Eva Vazquez, with whom I collaborated on a data analysis project and later worked under during the Global Challenge Lab. Her constant challenges pushed me to deliver one of the most enriching projects of my academic experience.
Q: What advice would you give to a student just starting a program at Thunderbird?
A: My biggest advice is simple: Be grateful.
Pursuing my master’s degree in the United States was a dream I had since I was a teenager, but for many years felt out of reach due to limited resources. After more than 13 years as an entrepreneur, I was finally able to make that dream a reality. Because of that, every day in the classroom felt like a privilege.
And finally, be proud. I know I’m not the only one who has worked incredibly hard to be here — this achievement represents every student. We should all feel proud to study at a top-ranked university in a country that represents opportunity, innovation and excellence.
Q: For what in your life do you feel most grateful?
I feel most grateful for my family.
They are the foundation of who I am. They taught me resilience, persistence and the courage to dream big, and they supported me through both the best and most difficult moments.
Every achievement I’ve reached carries a part of them. Their belief in me became my belief in myself, and that has made all the difference.
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