How We Got Here
from the perspectives of our Co-Founders
Mariah Manzano
Co-founder & CEO
As students, Story and I were very active on campus. We got involved with the right clubs and networked with the right people. But during our senior years, we both still struggled to find jobs. We had several conversations with each other, wondering why isn’t all of this hard work paying off?
I felt that I lacked mentorship in my life in particular, specifically with someone who looked like me in a role I saw myself in. I would reach out to people and ask for a meeting to learn more about their journeys, but often was ghosted. Eventually, I just wished for a central place where students could go to find mentors.
And along came Opal. We envisioned a space where anyone could come to participate in or host their own mentorship programs so that there were no barriers to finding the perfect mentor.
Story DeWeese
Co-founder & CTO
While facing lots of rejection in the job search process, it’s hard to keep up morale. I found comfort in sharing my experiences with my friend and co-founder, Mariah. Together we created Opal to help students easily find mentors.
The power in mentorship is the understanding that someone a little further along than me knows me, believes in me, motivates me and inspires me to be better than the current version of myself.
My motivation for co-founding Opal, is to prevent others from falling into the same trap I faced and to provide them with mentors who can help them navigate through the imposter syndrome, the feeling of being out of place and not belonging. After all, we may not know exactly what we’re looking for out of our career, but having a mentor along the journey provides an example that continuing on is possible even when there’s a pivot. Ultimately, it’s our relationships that will continue to inspire us to be lifelong learners with a growth mindset and the knowledge that anything is possible if you set your mind to it.