Daniel and Sue grew up in Guadalajara, Mexico and attended the same high school, but they didn’t really know each other until years later when they both began working at Hewlett Packard.
After high school Sue attended the University of Guadalajara and received a bachelor’s degree in Computer Software Engineering. She worked in tech for TATA, IBM and Hewlett Packard. Daniel graduated from Federal Engineering College with a bachelor’s in engineering automation and process controls. He has been working in tech his whole career, with time at Hewlett Packard (HP), Amazon, Splunk, and is now at Anaplan.
HP brought them to the U.S., first to New York. They got engaged in 2011 and married in Guadalajara. In 2014 HP then brought them to California. They first lived in Cupertino, but the pandemic work at home model opened an opportunity for a new lifestyle, and they jumped on the chance to move here to the Northgate neighborhood in 2020.
Sue left the tech world to stay home with their two girls and manage the remodeling of their new home, a big project that sounded easier than the reality of living in the house while all the work was being done.
Daniela is 11 and attends Foothill Middle School, just down the street from their home. She has taken advantage of the proximity of the Shadelands Sports Mall, trying many sports from soccer to volleyball to Tae Kwon Do, but her passion is swimming. The family joined Scottsdale Swim Team this year, and Daniela loves it. She is fluent in English and Spanish and is now learning French too.
Camila, 3, is like a little tornado in the house and the most outgoing in the family. “She loves dressing up,” says Sue. “One day she’s a princess; another day she’s a superhero. She’s a very smart little girl and speaks Spanglish most of the time.” Camila enjoys swimming, dancing and soccer, going to the park and the library, but her favorite activity is gymnastics. She attends Northcreek Preschool.
The girls also love playing with their mini goldendoodle puppy, Latte!
The family embraces their Mexican culture, speaking only Spanish at home, and keeping their traditions as part of their everyday life. They follow fútbol (soccer), love tequila, tacos and mariachi too! They usually spend the holidays in Mexico with their families and then a few days in Puerta Vallarta or at their family cabin in Tapalpa.
Sue is a member of the Mount Diablo Mother’s Club where she enjoys meeting other moms and attending fun events with other families. They also have been members of Oak Grove Swim Club, enjoying hot days of swimming and barbeques with other neighborhood families.
In addition to soccer, they root for the Warriors Basketball team and the 49ers Football team. Other than Mexico, another favorite vacation spot is Disneyland. They enjoy outdoors vacations too, in a glamping kind of way at the Russian River and Yosemite.
“As a family we really enjoy our evening walks in the neighborhood, the trees, the colors, and the friendliness of the people,” adds Sue. We here at Northgate Living are glad they found Northgate as their new place to call home. The Gonzalez Arevalo family looks forward to meeting more neighbors as they head into their 4th year here in Northgate.
By Kara Navolio, Resident since 1991 Photos provided by the Gonzalez Arevalo family
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