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Walgreens manager has success formula
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| Blanca Lopez |
She was the first in her family to graduate from college
By Lacee Solis
Sanger Herald Correspondent
Fresh out of Mexico and struggling with English, Blanca Lopez found grade school in Fresno to be a daunting place.
“I remember the kids being very cruel. They would say ‘why don’t you just go back where you came from,’” Lopez said.
She recalled coming home daily in tears, pleading with her mom to not make her go back. Her mom, always a supportive figure in her life, encouraged her daughter to persist and not give up.
And Lopez didn’t give up in grade school and hasn’t given up since. Now, the 30-year-old Lopez is a business graduate of California State University, Fresno and the store manager of the new Sanger Walgreens.
“To see that I came from not knowing English, from not having anything and to see myself as a successful person, I never even dreamed,” she said.
Lopez came to the United States two years after her parents, who left her and one of her sisters in Mexico with family until they could afford to send for them. Her parents worked in packinghouses and fields until they saved up enough money to bring her and her little sister over. Soon after arriving, Lopez and her siblings enrolled in school.
By Lacee Solis
Sanger Herald Correspondent
Fresh out of Mexico and struggling with English, Blanca Lopez found grade school in Fresno to be a daunting place.
“I remember the kids being very cruel. They would say ‘why don’t you just go back where you came from,’” Lopez said.
She recalled coming home daily in tears, pleading with her mom to not make her go back. Her mom, always a supportive figure in her life, encouraged her daughter to persist and not give up.
And Lopez didn’t give up in grade school and hasn’t given up since. Now, the 30-year-old Lopez is a business graduate of California State University, Fresno and the store manager of the new Sanger Walgreens.
“To see that I came from not knowing English, from not having anything and to see myself as a successful person, I never even dreamed,” she said.
Lopez came to the United States two years after her parents, who left her and one of her sisters in Mexico with family until they could afford to send for them. Her parents worked in packinghouses and fields until they saved up enough money to bring her and her little sister over. Soon after arriving, Lopez and her siblings enrolled in school.
Looking back Lopez said she began to excel in school as she became more fluent in English. By the time she entered high school she was accepted into the marketing academy at Fresno High School. She said enrollment was limited because acceptance was based on grades and the student’s future career goals.
The rigorous program was set up to prepare students for the future work force. For each of the three years Lopez attended the academy she won student of the year and perfect attendance. The biggest accomplishment was a $2,000 scholarship she received out of her class of 500. She graduated with honors and was accepted to Fresno State.
The first in her family to attend college, Lopez joined Fresno State’s CAMP, the College Assistance Migrant Program, that helps students who are first-time freshman and whose family works in an agriculture-related field. She said the program provided her with a tutor and counselor to help her through her college career.
In college she worked as a lead supervisor in the credit department at Gottschalks before applying for a paid internship at Walgreens in Fresno. She said persistence played a key role in her hiring.
“I wanted to really get the internship so I kept calling every week,” she said. “I don’t know if it was because they really wanted to bring me in or if I just annoyed them but I started June 3, 2001.”
After her six-week internship was finished, Walgreens offered Lopez an assistant manager position. While the position usually requires a manager to work a 40-hour workweek, Walgreens allowed Lopez to work part time. She was considered the extra manager and was sent to various stores that needed coverage.
“At the time I wasn’t sure what I wanted,” Lopez explained. “It was paying my bills but I wasn’t sure if that’s what I wanted to do. But then I graduated and became full time. When I went to Kingsburg is when I got promoted to store manager.”
Lopez is enjoying life with her husband and two kids in Fresno while managing the Sanger store.
Employee Erica Zamarripa and Lopez worked together at one of the Fresno Walgreens for about three years before Lopez moved to the Kingsburg store. Zamarripa then followed Lopez to Sanger.
“I think she’s inspirational because there’s a lot of Hispanics that feel like they can’t accomplish something and they kind of see her and they’re like she started off just like us and if she can do it, then I can do it, too,” Zamarripa said.
Imelda Castrejon, the senior beauty advisor at the Sanger Walgreens, has a past similar to Lopez. She came to Sanger when she was 3 years old from Mexico and did not know English, making her experience in school difficult.
Living in Sanger all of her life, Castrejon said the large Hispanic population appreciates going to stores where they feel welcomed.
“I know that a lot of the people like to shop where they can talk to the people,” Castrejon said. “So she can communicate with the people and they like to know that they can talk to you.”
Lopez said her story proves anyone is capable of accomplishing what they set their minds to. Seeing her mom work two jobs to make ends meet and working in the fields was the personal motivation that kept her focused.
“I see myself like a lot of people who come from Mexico here,” she said. “A lot of them in some way or another can kind of relate because if it wasn’t their kids, it was their parents. They struggle, they have to learn a different language, and they had to learn something that they were not used to.
“My parents never expected me to go to Fresno State or for me to even be a store manager but I always told them: I’m doing what I’m doing because one day I want my parents and my husband to be proud when they walk in the door and see my name on it.”
“I remember the kids being very cruel. They would say ‘why don’t you just go back where you came from,’” Lopez said.
She recalled coming home daily in tears, pleading with her mom to not make her go back. Her mom, always a supportive figure in her life, encouraged her daughter to persist and not give up.
And Lopez didn’t give up in grade school and hasn’t given up since. Now, the 30-year-old Lopez is a business graduate of California State University, Fresno and the store manager of the new Sanger Walgreens.
“To see that I came from not knowing English, from not having anything and to see myself as a successful person, I never even dreamed,” she said.
Lopez came to the United States two years after her parents, who left her and one of her sisters in Mexico with family until they could afford to send for them. Her parents worked in packinghouses and fields until they saved up enough money to bring her and her little sister over. Soon after arriving, Lopez and her siblings enrolled in school.
By Lacee Solis
Sanger Herald Correspondent
Fresh out of Mexico and struggling with English, Blanca Lopez found grade school in Fresno to be a daunting place.
“I remember the kids being very cruel. They would say ‘why don’t you just go back where you came from,’” Lopez said.
She recalled coming home daily in tears, pleading with her mom to not make her go back. Her mom, always a supportive figure in her life, encouraged her daughter to persist and not give up.
And Lopez didn’t give up in grade school and hasn’t given up since. Now, the 30-year-old Lopez is a business graduate of California State University, Fresno and the store manager of the new Sanger Walgreens.
“To see that I came from not knowing English, from not having anything and to see myself as a successful person, I never even dreamed,” she said.
Lopez came to the United States two years after her parents, who left her and one of her sisters in Mexico with family until they could afford to send for them. Her parents worked in packinghouses and fields until they saved up enough money to bring her and her little sister over. Soon after arriving, Lopez and her siblings enrolled in school.
Looking back Lopez said she began to excel in school as she became more fluent in English. By the time she entered high school she was accepted into the marketing academy at Fresno High School. She said enrollment was limited because acceptance was based on grades and the student’s future career goals.
The rigorous program was set up to prepare students for the future work force. For each of the three years Lopez attended the academy she won student of the year and perfect attendance. The biggest accomplishment was a $2,000 scholarship she received out of her class of 500. She graduated with honors and was accepted to Fresno State.
The first in her family to attend college, Lopez joined Fresno State’s CAMP, the College Assistance Migrant Program, that helps students who are first-time freshman and whose family works in an agriculture-related field. She said the program provided her with a tutor and counselor to help her through her college career.
In college she worked as a lead supervisor in the credit department at Gottschalks before applying for a paid internship at Walgreens in Fresno. She said persistence played a key role in her hiring.
“I wanted to really get the internship so I kept calling every week,” she said. “I don’t know if it was because they really wanted to bring me in or if I just annoyed them but I started June 3, 2001.”
After her six-week internship was finished, Walgreens offered Lopez an assistant manager position. While the position usually requires a manager to work a 40-hour workweek, Walgreens allowed Lopez to work part time. She was considered the extra manager and was sent to various stores that needed coverage.
“At the time I wasn’t sure what I wanted,” Lopez explained. “It was paying my bills but I wasn’t sure if that’s what I wanted to do. But then I graduated and became full time. When I went to Kingsburg is when I got promoted to store manager.”
Lopez is enjoying life with her husband and two kids in Fresno while managing the Sanger store.
Employee Erica Zamarripa and Lopez worked together at one of the Fresno Walgreens for about three years before Lopez moved to the Kingsburg store. Zamarripa then followed Lopez to Sanger.
“I think she’s inspirational because there’s a lot of Hispanics that feel like they can’t accomplish something and they kind of see her and they’re like she started off just like us and if she can do it, then I can do it, too,” Zamarripa said.
Imelda Castrejon, the senior beauty advisor at the Sanger Walgreens, has a past similar to Lopez. She came to Sanger when she was 3 years old from Mexico and did not know English, making her experience in school difficult.
Living in Sanger all of her life, Castrejon said the large Hispanic population appreciates going to stores where they feel welcomed.
“I know that a lot of the people like to shop where they can talk to the people,” Castrejon said. “So she can communicate with the people and they like to know that they can talk to you.”
Lopez said her story proves anyone is capable of accomplishing what they set their minds to. Seeing her mom work two jobs to make ends meet and working in the fields was the personal motivation that kept her focused.
“I see myself like a lot of people who come from Mexico here,” she said. “A lot of them in some way or another can kind of relate because if it wasn’t their kids, it was their parents. They struggle, they have to learn a different language, and they had to learn something that they were not used to.
“My parents never expected me to go to Fresno State or for me to even be a store manager but I always told them: I’m doing what I’m doing because one day I want my parents and my husband to be proud when they walk in the door and see my name on it.”
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