A
busy west coast Phi Mu learns how to juggle family and career.
Maybe it's the proximity to the ocean. Maybe it's the country
home 30 minutes outside of Los Angeles. Maybe it's simply the
escape found in classic literature like Tolstoy's Anna Karenina.
Or maybe it's the joy found in spending time with family. Whatever
it is, Maria Sanchez has found the secret to happiness.
The joy in her heart radiates from Maria's warm face. As a busy
executive and radio manager, she has found the balance that
so many women seek between family and career. As a manager for
a nationally syndicated radio personality, a real estate entrepreneur
and the President/CEO/CFO of Siempre, Inc., Maria Sanchez is
unquestionably a business success. But the road to such career
satisfaction wasn't always easy.
As a student at the University of California-Davis, Maria worked
multiple jobs to pay for her education expenses. It wasn't until
the Public Relations/Personnel Management double major's sophomore
year of college that she joined Phi Mu, where she refined the
skills necessary to be successful in both business and life.
On her campus, Maria was a resident advisor, Phi Mu chapter
president, Panhellenic president and Interfraternity Council
founder/co-president.
The ambitious young college graduate's initial career resulted
in her being one of the first (and youngest) women appointed
by State Farm to serve as an insurance agent. While her career
was rewarding, Maria wanted to exercise her creativity even
more. Her willingness to take opportunities as they present
themselves led her to a career in broadcasting, where she has
worked as a producer, a public affairs show host and an on-air
personality.
Though she is currently voicing a national advertising radio
campaign, her career is on hold while she looks after her four
children. While much of her free time is filled serving as her
daughter's seventh grade classroom mom, Maria still finds time
to engage in civic duties or writing. And she makes time for
Phi Mu.
As a former chapter consultant and chapter advisor, Maria understands
the commitment it takes to keep Phi Mu strong. "Our founding
sisters had tremendous vision and left us with an incredible
legacy," she says. "Our responsibility to them and
their hard work is to continue to foster the great Fraternity
that they created. We can only hope to answer this call by supporting
our Fraternity and Foundation in whatever way we can, either
through volunteerism or financial support."
Sound advice from a woman who has learned the fine art of balance. |
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Maria
Sanchez, Eta Mu, encourages all alumnae to
stay involved with Phi Mu. "Phi Mu does not end
at graduation," she proclaims. "Actually,
our collegiate experience is the smallest part of
our relationship with our Fraternity. There is a need
for us to be as involved as we can on every level:
local, state and national. All we need to do is ask
how we can help."
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Maria
Sanchez's
Great Motivators |
| 1. |
The
knowledge that this too shall pass helps me keep
my problems in perspective. |
| 2. |
I
have a great faith and love of my religion, and
that always serves to console me in my times of
need. |
| 3. |
I
have an incredible, tiny circle of girlfriends
that I rely on in my moments of crisis. We have
been there for each other through nearly all of
our life’s triumphs and tragedies. Friends
are the family that you choose. |
| 4. |
I
try to remind myself that, no matter what life
throws my way, these are the dilemmas of the living.
In other words, this is what life is all about,
and it certainly beats the alternative. |
| 5. |
I
believe in the goodness of mankind. It is that
innate core value that we all carry that helps
me to give others the benefit of the doubt, to
know that they can rise to the occasion and to
continue to trust and have faith in my interactions
with them, whoever they may be. |
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