This is the 89th article in Bears Doing Big Things, a weekly column celebrating the stories of notable M-A alumni.
“My path wasn’t exactly straightforward. I didn’t take the typical college route, yet I found my way to Meta and I love it,” Jennifer Zamora Flores ’16 said. Flores works as an admin specialist at Meta, handling scheduling, coordination, and team support across many parts of the company.
Flores was a part of AVID for all four years at M-A. “AVID was really an amazing experience for me,” she said. “We toured local and SoCal colleges, and I learned how to manage my time and take notes, which set me up for future success.”
Flores was also involved in Leadership throughout her junior and senior years at M-A. “Leadership was one of the first times I got really involved at M-A, and it was rewarding to plan events and give back to the community,” Flores said.
“I was always pretty shy, but AVID and Leadership helped me branch out and meet new people,” she added.
After M-A, Flores attended Cañada College, initially focused on nursing and science. “I started taking chemistry classes and realized it really wasn’t for me, so I ended up switching my major to sociology,” she said.
After two years at Cañada, Flores switched to a program called Year Up, a one-year educational program that includes six months of in-classroom training followed by six months of an internship. “I got placed at Meta for my internship as a recruiting coordinator, where I scheduled interviews for potential candidates and helped with project management,” Flores explained.
Currently, Flores works as an admin specialist at Meta, supporting the marketing of different teams like Reality Labs, AR glasses, and more. In this role, Flores handles scheduling, organizes meetings, and assists with various tasks to keep projects running smoothly.
“It’s really cool to see all the different sides of Meta,” she said. “Most people only think of Instagram and Facebook, but I get to see the behind-the-scenes and what it takes to build those teams.”
As for her biggest challenge in her role: “The imposter syndrome is really hard. I didn’t get a full college experience, and now I work with so many smart people with masters or PhDs, so I get pretty shy,” Flores said. “It’s important to reassure myself that there’s a reason I’m here.”
Flores’ advice to current M-A students: “Do a lot of research on the help and scholarships available for colleges. There are so many options and different paths to take, and it’s important to choose the right one for you, not what is just advertised as the hardest.”
To those interested in working at Meta: “Try to network as much as possible. Get LinkedIn, connect with people, and don’t be afraid to reach out.”
