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Sandra Ponce
Sandra Ponce
01:39

Sandra Ponce

Taco Bell

Irvine, CA USA

"I believe in giving it my all, and taking all that I can from every opportunity I have. If we enter everything we do with that mentality, we’re going to be successful and we’re going to grow."

Career Roadmap

Sandra's work combines: Business, Education, and Teaching / Mentoring

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Day In The Life

Associate Manager, Human Resources

I facilitate a four-day leadership development session for our managers and area coaches called The Mark and The Quest.

Skills & Education

Here's the path I took:

  • High School

  • Bachelor's Degree

    Human Services, General

    University of Phoenix

  • Bachelor's Degree

    Human Resources Management/Personnel Administration, General

    University of Phoenix

Here's the path I recommend for someone who wants to be a Human Resources Managers:

Bachelor's Degree: Human Services, General

Bachelor's Degree: Human Resources Management/Personnel Administration, General

Learn more about different paths to this career

Life & Career Milestones

My path in life took a while to figure out

  • 1.

    When I was a senior in high school, my parents told me they didn’t have enough money for my prom.

  • 2.

    I didn’t want to miss out on any senior-year activities, so I decided I would pay for them myself.

  • 3.

    To earn money, I took an entry-level job at my local Pizza Hut restaurant.

  • 4.

    I was promoted to crew trainer, and I realized I loved coaching and helping my team members.

  • 5.

    I originally wanted to be a teacher, but that job showed me there are many ways to educate people.

  • 6.

    I decided to pursue human resources; I completed a degree program while also raising my family.

  • 7.

    While in school, a friend recruited me to work at Taco Bell, so two years after leaving Pizza Hut, I was back at Yum!

Defining Moments

How I responded to discouragement

  • THE NOISE

    Messages from Peers:

    Your role has been eliminated.

  • How I responded:

    After 17 years of working at Pizza Hut, I’d made my way up into a human resources role, and it finally felt like I was right where I wanted to be…and then my role came to an end—all of their restaurants were franchised, and I was laid off. That time was very scary, and I didn’t know what was next for me professionally. But I knew that if I was going to pursue a career in human resources, I needed to make my education a priority, so one month later, I enrolled in the University of Phoenix.