Anthony Sicuranza '15: Driven to Success At Google 
Following a Past Career as a Mechanic

Anthony Sicuranza ’15, was always looking for the "right fit" for his career pathway. In high school, he was very focused on working at his father's autobody shop giving oil changes and tune-ups for customers. As a result of this, he said academics were not at the top of his radar. "I could not name five colleges in the country by the time I graduated from high school," said the Mount Vernon native.   

After Sicuranza's graduation, his father closed his own business and went to work for another autobody shop.
"I followed him and worked there. But then I began to hop around to a lot of jobs. You name it, I did a little bit of everything," said Sicuranza. Construction work, installing ethernet cables, census collection, selling beer and computer support were just a few of the jobs he tried on for size. Somehow he was always searching for something more.

By the time he was 23 years old, he had set his sights on becoming a police officer, while concurrently taking classes at a Westchester Community College. "True story, I failed the physical by one sit-up," said Sicuranza. He believes that failing that physical, though devestating at the time, was the hand of fate telling him to pivot his direction. He began to become energized by his business classes while pursuing his associates degree. Before Sicuranza knew it, he was introduced to the then dean of the School of Business and enrolled in Mercy College. This step became one that he attributes to an exciting career he had never before envisioned - working at a Fortune 500 company.

Though 26 years old at the time when he entered Mercy, Anthony felt like his future finally began to come into focus. The term "non-traditional student" was not even a distinguishing factor - he saw everyone at Mercy coming from different paths. Suddenly he found something that fit perfectly. 

Sicuranza excelled at Mercy's School of Business and took every opportunity that came his way. Internships with companies he only dreamed about were suddenly within his grasp. Landing an intership at Viacom and then an internship at PepsiCo became pivotal steps for him. Following his intership at PepsiCo, he was hired at his first fulltime job in the corporate world as an associate compensation analyst. 

"Since then it's been like a rocketship," said Sicuranza. "I can't understate how the time at Mercy College shaped me. They changed me. I have the skills now to fit in at these companies." Today, he holds the position of senior compensation business partner at Google, a place he says he could not have imagined working at in his wildest dreams. There, he oversees the compensation of approximately 27,000 employees at Google.

He believes his unconventional path to the corporate world both sets him apart and makes him think differently. Having a variety of different workforce backgrounds has proved an asset when approaching different challenges at his job. Problem solving and finding creative solutions are skillsets he developed even before entering the corporate or digital world.

As a direct result of his many workforce experiences, he has some sage advice for others aspiring to advance in their own careers. "Never ever say you can't do something. Figure out how to do it," said Sicuranza. He cites that in this age, quite ironically, 'googling' something to learn how to do something without direction from others can set anyone apart.

"Never limit yourself by saying you can't. See it as possible," said Sicuranza.