When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, Monique Moguel had an introspective moment shared by many in her position. At the time, she worked in banking, and the world of finance allowed her to parlay her skillset into a successful, stable career. But her quick growth and ascension came with an impersonal bent that left her feeling removed from something meaningful. As the world loitered in lockdown, Monique chose to take a moment to evaluate her goals and reassess. And she came to a conclusion that would rapidly alter her career path.
“I had a successful career, I had job security, but I was not feeling fulfilled, and COVID made me reflect and say, well, I would just be working,” she said. “There is no personal aspect to my story. It was just me burning out and that that was not OK with me.”
Seeking to take control of her own narrative, Monique looked at tech as the avenue toward fulfillment. So, with no experience in the field, and no connections to fall back on, she took the daring leap. She reached out to Wevise partner Code Your Dreams at the end of 2024 to start building her bank of relationships on her new journey. After talking to Code Your Dreams Founder & CEO Brianne Caplan, she registered – on the last possible day – for Wevise’s Chicago TechPath Alliance mentoring program.
Monique found the alliance to be extremely welcoming and beneficent. Despite a few “hiccups” with mentorship pairing – due, in her words, to her unrelenting passion, commitment and focus, which she admits can be intimidating, Monique hit her stride. Mentorship allowed her to take off more quickly than even she expected, as she rapidly stacked certifications and shortly started her own cybersecurity business, TruVigil, which helps organizations translate evolving frameworks and regulations into business-aligned governance strategies.
She has come full-circle. TruVigil has now partnered directly with Wevise, with the goal of providing risk assessments to see where the gaps are in the organizational infrastructure. The goal is to fortify Wevise’s structure security posture, while improving risk and compliance practices.
In return, Wevise will support TruVigil through marketing, visibility and a shared public-facing collaboration, offering proof of Wevise’s mission in action: creating access and opportunity for those who seek it.
“Both my business and the organization are partnering to grow in this partnership,” Monique said. The partnership will allow TruVigil to highlight Wevise on its website and vice-versa. Ultimately, it means more to Monique because of the mentor-mentee connection. “I want to help [Wevise] be proactive in their compliance and protecting their people and their systems and processes,” she said, “but I’m also supporting their membership because I’m one of their members. I’m a partner, but I’m also a member!”
The tenacity with which she pursued her new dream cannot be discounted. Monique felt a sense of providence when she registered for the mentorship program on the same day she learned about it, which was, quite literally, the last day to apply. “Even if I’m the last person in, it will not be a wasted opportunity on me,” she said.
She believes Wevise and Code Your Dreams will forever be inextricably connected to any future success she has. “They opened themselves up to me through mentorship, and then came back and said, hey, come in, we will partner with you,” she said. “I would not have this story today without them.”
That story is a direct reflection of the benefits intrinsic within Wevise’s mission. For so many underrepresented people, the chance to build a network can seem unreachable. Monique built up her business in just a single year through sheer will and determination, while also buoyed by a network that was nonexistent at the start of her career shift. She admitted to having no personal references or connections, an “absolute blank slate.” In fact, to find Code Your Dreams, she “literally googled opportunities to volunteer.”
For Monique, the partnership is a tangible continuation of her core relationship with Wevise’s mentoring services, and serves as a starting step in a new, mutually beneficial alliance.
“They showed me a level of support that is unmatched. So I have to show up for them because they’ve been showing up consistently for me, and I think that is a big testament for their that they objective of the program, of the organization as a whole, creating opportunities and giving the space for people who want it.”