Mariana Aguilar
Los Angeles '12
University of Southern California, Loyola Marymount
Business
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Teach For America: Los Angeles Corps
After college, Mariana joined TFA and taught third graders in Los Angeles. She improved student engagement by deploying a variety of learning solutions, including game-based learning.
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Loyola Marymount University
After TFA, Mariana pursued her masters in urban education with a focus in digital learning. She assessed the impact of the digital learning environment versus the analog experience on content mastery.
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Citizens of the World: Regional Development Manager
Mariana developed Citizens of the World Los Angeles’ fundraising strategy. She led three parent volunteer teams in raising $1.5 million by streamlining donations into one digital, automated system.
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Murmuration: California Manager of Partnerships
Mariana was on the founding California team at Murmuration, a political nonprofit dedicated to providing shared political infrastructure to education advocacy organizations.
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Deloitte Consulting LLP: Consultant
Today, Mariana works as a consultant at Deloitte Consulting LLP. She is also the co-lead for the Diversity and Inclusion Council for the Deloitte Los Angeles office.
Q & A
What led you to apply to Teach For America?
A friend of mine involved in educational equity showed me the TFA website and promo video. It was all about creating opportunity and expanding life opportunities for people, which really resonated with my core values. I had always been really passionate about education—my mom played a big part in that as a community college professor and leader. So when I watched the video, I applied first round!
How was the corps a catalyst for your personal transformation?
The corps was very much aligned with my beliefs about the world and my values already. It didn’t change them for me, it strengthened them, deepened them, and gave me the language to talk about it. But I also learned how to work across lines of difference, how to have difficult conversations, how to be introspective and reflective, experienced social growth, and developed a new level of tenacity.
What do you do today?
I work as a consultant for Deloitte Consulting. The reason I came to this organization was because TFA was the hardest thing I’ve ever done. It pushed the limits of what I thought I was capable of doing, and I wanted another experience that challenged me and would help me grow.
How has TFA prepared you skills-wise for these challenges?
I feel like my teaching skills are some of my most transferable skills. Number one is being able to facilitate a conversation with 25 other people—it doesn’t matter if it’s kids or adults. People will often say, “Wow! You’re not nervous leading a meeting for executives!” And I think, “Have you ever tried to lead a lesson for 25 third-graders?”
How do you stay connected to TFA’s mission?
I had seen great ideas in education policy that failed in implementation or didn’t get adopted widely. I realized I needed to diversify my thinking pattern, because I’d only been looking through the nonprofit and advocacy lens. I wanted to learn lessons from business. At Deloitte, I have the opportunity to do social impact work as the co-lead for the Inclusion Council for the Los Angeles office.