Angelo’s Story: Mentorship Comes Full Circle

by StreetWise Partners
January 8, 2024

January is National Mentoring Month. And we’re highlighting the power of mentorship with the story of a StreetWise alumnus who has returned to the program as a mentor.

In 2011, Milciades Lora, joined StreetWise Partners as a mentee. He learned the professional skills he needed to stand out and get ahead, both as a college student and in his career. Today, he’s a successful sales leader who, more than a decade after graduating from the program, has returned to StreetWise as a mentor to give back to others. Here’s his story.

“Think about a moment in your life when someone helped you, how their actions, whether big or small, had a very significant impact on your life. You can be that person for someone else.” — Angelo Lora

Family values: creating opportunity

Milciades Lora, who also goes by Angelo, his family name, has fond memories of growing up in the Dominican Republic, living in a close neighborhood where everyone knew each other.

He tells the story of his grandfather, one of the best salesmen for a German company that sold parts for agriculture, but who was hitting a ceiling and not getting promoted. So his grandfather started his own business selling parts. Eventually, Angelo’s dad took over the business and it was a huge success for many years.

But when Angelo was 10 years old, the agricultural business wasn’t faring well and Angelo’s dad decided to move the family to the U.S. to give his kids more opportunity. He went from running his own company in the Dominican Republic to working minimum wage jobs in and around Queens, N.Y.

“He put his pride aside for his kids to have the best life possible,” says Angelo.

After high school, Angelo went to Queensborough Community College, where he held leadership roles in student government and graduated with an associate’s degree. He then spent nearly six years working in catering and bartending and living paycheck to paycheck.

“I wasn’t living with the mentality of growth,” says Angelo. “I wanted to better myself. I wanted a better life.”

Seeking growth as a mentee

Angelo attended PACE University for a semester, then decided to pursue a degree with Baruch College’s business program. He worked several jobs to pay for the cost of college, and at times, still didn’t have enough money to feed himself.

“It was the hardest thing I’ve ever done,” he says. But in the face of an already challenging situation, he took a risk and added something else to his plate – he signed up as a mentee in the StreetWise Bridge mentoring program.

The experience was life-changing for Angelo. Through his mentor and other volunteers in the program, he learned essential interview and networking skills including how to write a resume and cover letter and deliver an elevator pitch.

Working with a mentor was an important step in helping him learn all the skills required to stand out — as a student, at college job fairs, and throughout his career.

“A lot of us don’t have access to the corporate world and aren’t exposed to these skills,” says Angelo.

“StreetWise helped me look at things differently and not see barriers between people. I started to feel more comfortable talking and presenting myself to people, and that gave me courage to try new things.”

Building a successful career

Angelo was the first in his immediate family to earn a college degree. And with his degree and the skills and confidence he gained at StreetWise, he went on to build a successful career in sales.

One of Angelo’s early roles was as an account executive at Yelp. Soon after, he moved to Wix.com, where he started as an account executive, got promoted to a manager role, and then served as Director of Sales for Latin America. As Angelo explains, having learned to stand out, connect with people, and ask the right questions helped him seize each new opportunity.

Angelo also excelled at helping other people to succeed in their career — a skill he would eventually bring full circle back to StreetWise.

Returning to StreetWise as a mentor

After he graduated from StreetWise, Angelo continued to come back to volunteer in events and continue to learn and network. This is core to the StreetWise offering. “Beyond the StreetWise Bridge” is the phase that continues for a lifetime, and helps alumni not only advance their own career but also give back to other mentees. And that’s exactly what he did.

Angelo was so grateful to StreetWise for what he gained as a mentee that he returned to the program to give back as a mentor. In the Fall of 2023, he was paired with his mentee Brian, a Junior at Baruch College.

Just as Angelo experienced in the program, now he’s helping Brian gain the skills he needs to prepare for interviews and stand out as a professional.

“Brian wants to be challenged so he can land his dream job,” says Angelo, “and it feels great to be able to support him on that journey. There’s no better feeling than to help others.”

Angelo has noticed a big difference in Brian – and the other mentees – since the start of the program. “StreetWise does really great things for mentees and it’s amazing to notice the changes. These mentees are getting an opportunity to find someone who is like a superhero. They want to know how you found success and how they can do the same,” he says. “I’m so proud of Brian. He’s so much more confident.”

Angelo loves being in a position where he can help others with their career. “I feel very, very proud to offer to others everything that StreetWise gave me,” he says.

For people considering the mentor role, he has some advice: “Think about a moment in your life when someone helped you, how their actions, whether big or small, had a very significant impact on your life. You can be that person for someone else.”

And in the process, you may learn more about yourself. While Angelo came into being a mentor with the idea that he’d be teaching others, he didn’t expect he’d also be learning so much. As he explains, “Being a mentor is helping me look at myself and ask: Where do I want to be in the next 5-10 years and am I ready for that next step? That’s the same question I was asking when I was about to graduate from StreetWise, and here it is again later in my career.”

We are seeking mentors for our next cycle. Be like Angelo and apply to be a mentor today!