Beyond the Measure Episode Six: Mariana Loeza Orozco

Beyond the Measure
Episode 6: Mariana Loeza Orozco

When Bearkats are presented with a problem, they use their wits and determination to find a solution. In the latest episode of Beyond the Measure, our hosts sat down with Mariana Loeza Orozco, a Sam Houston State University alum and founder of Business Oriented Ladies of Distinction (BOLD), to discuss how she built the organization before graduating and launching her career in marketing. The following lays out the discussion in a convenient Q&A format. For the full Beyond the Measure experience, watch the full episode below or on YouTube.

Can you maybe start by telling us a little bit about yourself and what led you to Sam Houston State University?

I am a recent graduate; I graduated in May of 2025. I was a marketing major with a French minor and the reason that I chose Sam was because all throughout high school I was in a program called Future Business Leaders of America. I did competitions and events, and from then on, it was just picking what business program was the best for me and my personal growth. I happened upon Sam and realized that a smaller school with a learning environment where I could truly excel, have one-on-ones with my teacher and not just be another number was huge for me. So that's one of the reasons. Also, because in some schools, you go in the business program and then, sometimes you might not meet certain criteria to go into a specific area that you want. But with Sam, I went in as marketing, and I graduated as marketing and I loved that.

We're talking about BOLD today; tell us how that came to be.

Two summers ago, 2023, Deadpool Wolverine came out; I went with my boyfriend and we were running late. He says, "Here's the money. Go to the ticket booth, ask for two tickets," so I run up there and I ask, "Please, two tickets for Deadpool Wolverine." There was an older gentleman working the ticket booth, and he looked me up and down and he asked, "Do you have a parent or guardian with you?" I was taken aback. I was baffled, then my boyfriend came joining in and he's like, "Oh, no, you're fine." So, he looks the age, but I don't. Although the comment was likely harmless, it led me to think of other issues that I might not be aware of.

Women in business, obviously, there are so many things that are pinned against us; the glass ceiling, inequalities in pay, so many issues that maybe I'm not aware of. My dad's an engineer, my mom's a teacher, so I had nobody to go to with these kinds of questions. And I find it really incredible that we could do something to be able to gather women and have these different perspectives and different stories be told. I feel like a lot of organizations that were on campus already were very tailored. I don't know about other colleges, but in business, there was HR, marketing and entrepreneurship, but there wasn't a group just for women in business. I really wanted to foster something like that.

With this new organization that you started, how did it shape your leadership skills and your personal growth?

I saw a problem and I tried to come up with a solution for it. Anyone who's built an organization on campus knows how difficult it is. There are a lot of hoops that you have to go through in order to actually get it started, and that's only half the battle. Then it's getting students involved, having been one recently myself, I know how little free time you actually have to devote to something. So we really wanted to make it appealing and wanted to have students want to come every meeting. We didn't want it to just be, oh well, they're essentially saying the same thing every week; glass ceiling, women's struggles, all that stuff. We wanted different perspectives, so whether that be a woman that's in HR in the oil and gas field. Sure, I'm in marketing, but one day I want to work in oil and gas, so I'm going to go to that meeting because I can hear about that perspective. I think that it has really helped me grow and to help organize all of these things and just have people come together, not only business majors, we have some people in other colleges that are coming in because they hear about it and they're interested.

Do you want to talk about like what you're doing now outside of college and your career?

I graduated in May and then I had an internship lined up for June, but I'm a very type-A person and a huge planner. Even when I plan a hangout, I'm asking what time, "Where are we going? What are we doing?" But it honestly scared me that I only had an internship after college and I was so petrified. It's so hard to not label things as, "Oh, well, I'm behind the curve. Oh, well, like, I'm not doing what I'm supposed to be doing," when everyone goes at their own pace. It was so hard for me to not let it define my journey and how successful I could be.

I started this internship, it was a 90-day internship, and after 30 days, the CEO of my company called me and she said, "Hey, let's have a meeting." I was thinking, oh my goodness, this is yes or no. This is make or break. We had our meeting and she told me she loved the work that I’ve been doing, she wanted to keep me and have me be marketing coordinator. We were talking about career goals, what are my plans are, and I just I love that I was able to go into work with people who are so caring and so devoted to watching me grow. I was telling her one day I would want to run my own section of marketing. I'm in charge of the team for data and analytics. I'm in charge of the team for market research for all of these things. She said she could see that in my future and I think that's why I have loved working here at the company.

I also have Zerosion, which is in the oil and gas field, and if you had asked me a couple of months ago what a one-pot elastomeric coating means? I would have said you're speaking another language to me. I had no idea. It's crazy how even after college, my mom was right: you don't stop learning. It's constant and that's what I love about working for a consulting firm. I go from a Christian clothing brand to oil and gas to the medical field, which is what I'm currently doing.

What are your future career goals?

I want to keep doing marketing consulting. I love the different industries that I get to touch with that. It's not that I get bored easily, but I'm very much a go-getter. I want the next project, I want these things for myself. That's what I love about consulting and I really would want to stay there

If you were to meet a high school student or someone thinking about attending SAM Houston, what advice would you give them?

I would say that Sam is the best decision that could have ever happened to me. I feel like I got to really learn in an environment that I personally could really excel in. I got to represent my school on several accounts. I went to the HSI (Hispanic Serving Institution) Battle of the Brains at the KPMG Lakehouse. I represented the student perspective at Acme with the rebrand ideas that the consulting class gave Jeff Harris, the school CMO, and I got to do study abroad. I gained so many different things, but most importantly, a network of students and people who pushed me to be the best version of myself that I could be. So, to any student that's considering Sam, I would say college is what you make of it. So apply, get involved and I promise you that you will not regret it.