Melanie’s Story: Building a Career in HR 

by StreetWise Partners
June 27, 2024

Melanie J. discovered StreetWise Partners through her mom, Karline J., who also completed the program. Now an HR leader at Google, Melanie hopes her journey from growing up as a kid in Brooklyn to building a successful corporate career will help others in finding mentorship opportunities. 

A different path 

Melanie grew up in Brooklyn, NY. While most of her Haitian family were strong believers in working in healthcare and nursing, her mom carved out a different path into the corporate world. Melanie wanted to do the same. 

“Being around my mom and her coworkers, I knew I wanted to do something in business,” says Melanie. “I just didn’t know what that truly meant.” 

Her mom, Karline, was instrumental in supporting Melanie on that journey. She helped Melanie understand the importance of mentorship and introduced Melanie to the StreetWise Bridge program. 

Opening the door to mentorship 

Like Melanie, Karline knew early on she didn’t want to work in healthcare. It was challenging, though, to figure out how to enter the corporate world without anyone in her family or community helping her to find her way. 

While Karline was working for an organization that hired seasonal employees out of high school, she noticed they often didn’t have immediate plans to attend college. Karline had a lightbulb moment: What if the missing piece was mentorship?

She took it upon herself to research mentorship programs, found StreetWise Partners, and began recommending it to the employees who had recently graduated. Those who signed up and completed the program were so enthusiastic about the experience – some even decided to attend college to get a degree and pursue a career. 

Karline was so intrigued by the enthusiastic feedback she was hearing, she had to find out for herself what the program was all about. She applied to StreetWise, was accepted, and started working closely with a mentor on honing and enhancing her communication skills. This helped her receive multiple promotions in her role.  

While Karline had been learning the nuances of the business world on the job, her mentor helped her with the unwritten corporate rules that she wouldn’t have had access to otherwise. 

“That’s what makes StreetWise such a great program,” she says. “Many people from underrepresented communities don’t believe they can enter the corporate sector. StreetWise gives you the skills and confidence to help you believe you’re capable of more.” 

It was an eye-opening experience, and she couldn’t wait for Melanie to complete highschool and join the program too. 

Mentorship: the foundation for launching a career 

During her Freshman year, while busy with college, an internship, and friends, Melanie felt she had no time for StreetWise Bridge. But she followed her mom’s advice, signed up, and made it work. She’s glad she did. “It was one of the best experiences,” says Melanie. 

Melanie worked with a mentor to hone critical skills like building her resume, preparing for interviews, and networking. She also had the opportunity to research various fields. But more than a decade later, what she remembers most is how all the StreetWise mentors and volunteers made her feel. 

“After a long day, they would show up and take a genuine interest in me,” she says. “It was a motivator. If they’re so concerned about my future, I should be as well.” 

When Melanie was considering changing her major from information technology (IT) to focus on a career in HR, her mentors served as a valuable sounding board. They made themselves available to talk about the decision with her, helping her realize it was her career decision to make, and whatever path she chose, she could do it. 

That crucial support helped her forge a path to where she is today, in an HR job she loves. 

A fulfilling career in HR 

After earning her B.A. in HR from Baruch College, she became a recruitment specialist at Credit Suisse. She then got her Master’s Degree in Industrial and Labor Relations and has since worked as an HR Business Partner at JPMorgan Chase, Morgan Stanley, and now Google. 

“StreetWise helped build the foundation for me to be where I am now,” says Melanie. “I highly recommend individuals do the structured program of StreetWise because there is so much to gain from having a mentor.” 

Melanie’s mother agrees. “StreetWise changes lives,” Karline says, “because once you empower one person, you're basically changing generations to come.” She’s referred so many people to StreetWise (“more than she can count!”) that it’s like a rite of passage for young adults in her family and community. 

Giving back 

Both Karline and Melanie have also served as mentors and volunteers with StreetWise Bridge. As Melanie shares, “It felt great to be there for someone in the way that someone was there for me.” 

Melanie encourages other professionals to consider giving their time to mentorship: “when you find time to give back to another person, that person can walk away with so much.” 

Karline agrees, saying “I truly believe there’s really no option; you must give back.” 

Melanie, Karline, and other family members also run a program called Vwa Pa Nou (“Our Voices”), which helps young women in Haiti learn English and speak up. “When individuals have doubts and insecurities that they can’t go into certain spaces, we uplift and empower them,” says Karline. 

“All of us should make sure we do our part to uplift others,” she encourages, “because even minor changes can change people’s lives and can change generations.” 

Interested in being a mentor? We are recruiting now for our Fall program cycle. If you are in the NYC area, apply here. If you’re in the DC Metro area, apply here.