Marianela’s Story: Success Requires a Mindset Shift

by StreetWise Partners
October 2nd, 2023

As a child, Marianela Sanchez came to the U.S. from Puerto Rico. She graduated from high school in Allentown, Pennsylvania with straight As and received a scholarship to attend Lock Haven University. She always dreamed of having a professional career, but one obstacle after another threatened to disrupt what she envisioned for herself.

Then she found StreetWise Partners. Joining the mentorship program, she says, was a huge turning point in her life and her career. It helped her reach her vision of being able to take care of herself financially and pursue a professional career in something she loves.

“If somebody’s investing their time and resources in me, then I’m going to respect that and put in the work to finish the program. StreetWise was a hand extending to help me keep believing even when I didn’t feel worth it. People believed in me so I kept pushing.”

Pushing through hardship

When Marianela thinks back on her young adult years, the feeling that comes to mind is defeated.

First, a paperwork series of mistakes led to losing her scholarship. She dropped out of college and was living alone in Pennsylvania, struggling to make ends meet. She could pay rent, but sacrificed buying groceries. Her landlord called her mom in concern, letting her know that Marianela’s fridge was empty.

She made the difficult decision to move to New York City and live with her mom, yet Marianela didn’t want to be a burden. She found a job at Chuck E. Cheese working unreasonable hours in what turned out to be a toxic environment that wore her down – and woke her up.

“I wasn’t motivated by the very limited options I saw in front of me,” she says. “I didn’t know exactly what I wanted to do, but I knew that what I was doing wasn’t it.”

Following more setbacks – including an unstable office job and facing prejudices while on public assistance – Marianela decided to take a chance. She had heard about StreetWise during a workshop with New York City’s Workforce1 Career Center. But pursuing the mentoring program would put her at risk financially: in taking steps to create a career path, she would need to forgo public assistance.

‘I had to change my mindset’

Always with an eye towards a long-term vision of being a professional, Marianela bet on herself, and joined StreetWise as a mentee in 2012.

When she walked into Marsh McLennan (the hosting site) on day one of the program, she felt intimidated, like she didn’t belong there. What she didn’t realize at that moment was what a life-changing, liberating journey she was about to embark on.

“This was the beginning of a process that was very trying, but very necessary,” Marianela says.

Through StreetWise, Marianela learned the essential skills she needed, like resume writing, to enter the professional world. She also learned about the mutual benefits of networking, gained access to an amazing network, and started to build her confidence. She even got connections to obtain more professional clothing. Most importantly, she learned to change her mindset – from ‘you’ll never be anything more than what your environment is’ to ‘this is now a possibility.’

Having a personal connection with a mentor made all the difference. “My mentor made everything feel possible,” says Marianela. “The one-on-one touchpoint helped me realize that I could do this and I wasn’t on my own in this extremely intimidating environment.”

Knowing that her mentor was volunteering her time to show up every week made Marianela work that much harder through the program. “If somebody’s investing their time and resources in me, then I’m going to respect that and put in the work to finish the program. StreetWise was a hand extending to help me keep believing even when I didn’t feel worth it. People believed in me so I kept pushing.”

Following the mentorship program, Marianela briefly interned at StreetWise. Once again, her fear of not belonging crept up, and she pushed herself to grow professionally — because another opportunity was right around the corner.

Landing a job with a venture firm

When Marianela graduated from the StreetWise program, another mentor introduced her to Loeb Enterprises. She interviewed but wasn’t offered the job. Two years later the same woman noticed Marianela’s joyful energy and work ethic at a StreetWise event and again suggested she apply to Loeb. This time, Marianela landed the job as a marketing assistant.

She got exposure to many professionals, including CEOs from different portfolio companies, and experience working in several areas of the business, from the creative department to digital, direct mail, and corporate marketing.

“I didn’t realize until much later how much I was learning at the time,” says Marianela. “Someone told me that working there was like being at business school, and I got to see that for myself!”

Rising up the ranks

As she got more experience and knowledge, she got more opportunities and promotions – first to marketing coordinator, which led to assistant operations manager. Then she made a lateral move to one of Loeb’s portfolio companies, SingleCare (now part of RxSense), where she was later promoted to operations manager of performance marketing. Today, Marianela is manager of performance marketing for direct mail campaigns.

While she got into marketing “by accident,” she has carved out a career path that she loves and that taps into her strengths. Plus, she’s found a company culture where leaders invest in, mentor, and celebrate employees.

“I’m excited about this role and where it’s taking me,” she says. “It’s a stepping stone to other things in my career. I can go anywhere from here.”

Success: redefined

In addition to growing in her current role, Marianela hopes to do more public speaking and mentor others in the future.

She used to think about success as a specific destination. Now she sees it as a journey – one where she can continue to learn and grow and keep getting herself to a better place. As Marianela tells it, her previous thinking was ‘I’m not enough and I’ll never be enough.’ Now it’s ‘I’m enough where I am and I can continue to grow.’

“This shift has added so much to my life,” she says, “and I’m so grateful for the part that StreetWise played in helping me get there.”