LONG BEACH – Milka Duno sat in the lounge at the Hyatt Hotel on Tuesday. A passer-by might have thought, `Wow,' upon taking in her striking looks.
But Duno of Venezuela is much more than a pretty face. She is a race car driver in the IZOD Indy Racing League, and the possessor of four master's degrees.
She obtained her first – in organizational development – in Venezuela.
"Then I got a scholarship to study in Spain and in three years I did three masters simultaneously," Duno said proudly of her other degrees in naval architecture, maritime business and fishing and aquaculture acquired at two different institutions.
Judging by the way her eyes lit up when she spoke, it was obvious that making a difference in this challenging world is dear to her heart.
"I think this is one of the most important things I did in my life because education is forever," said Duno, who on Wednesday spoke at Hollenbeck Middle School in East Los Angeles and Cal Poly Pomona. "I appreciate so much the good example that my parents gave to me, when they were talking that school was the most important thing.
Even if one is a professional athlete.
Duno, who has experience as a naval engineer, said her program is getting terrific results. She beamed when talking about all the letters and e-mails she receives from parents and school administrators.
Her manager, Nicholas Alexander Hill, recalled one instance involving a boy named Jose at an elementary school in Indiana.
Duno has spread her word in 10 countries – the U.S., Venezuela, Colombia, Chile, Peru, Argentina, Guatemala, Mexico, Puerto Rico and Malaysia.
"I talk with everyone," she said. "Of course, I am Latin. I try to go to many different places, many different schools where it's Latin people. But I go to many schools because they are no different. It's just young people, they need some advice.
Practicing what she preaches is important to Duno, who has also given motivational speeches at large companies including Johnson & Johnson and Proctor & Gamble. That's why she is trying to be everything she can be on the race track.
Unlike others, Duno didn't start as a kid go-karting. At the behest of friends, she attended a driving clinic in Venezuela after her schooling in Spain. She said her focus and dedication to her studies helped her pick things up quickly and she finished second and fourth in the Venezuelan GT and Venezuelan Porsche Supercup series championships, respectively.
Duno moved to Miami and in 2000 won the Panoz GT series title. In 2001, she won five races in the LMP 675 American LeMans series. Duno also raced Grand-Am. In 2007, she teamed with three other drivers to finish second in the 24 Hours of Daytona, the highest-ever finish by a female driver.
All that has not translated into success in IndyCar. Then again, this is her first full campaign, thanks to Dale Coyne Racing, which signed her in the offseason.
In partial seasons in 2007, 2008 and 2009 for other teams, Duno's best finish in a race was 11th.
The book about her life was designed to attract children ages 8 to 12. But she said adults also have taken to the book, which won first place for Best Young Adult Sports/Recreation Book at the International Latino Book Awards last year in New York City.
"Big people call me after reading the book and say, `You inspired me even more,"' Duno said with a big smile.
Duno spoke to a group of mechanical engineering students at Cal Poly Pomona. A professor asked her how she deals with being in a male-dominated sport.
Third-year engineering student Andrea Ferris was astonished by Duno's determination, especially in her education. "I'm just impressed with how much she has gotten done in a short time," Ferris said.