Success Stories

It’s not surprising that Herik Garcia (Michigan Ross ‘23) found his place in the business world. Growing up in Hartford, Michigan, he spent hours daydreaming about what career he would have when he grew up. “Most kids wanted to be a doctor, firefighter, or policeman,” says Garcia. “But I watched a lot of WWE, so my dream career was to become the chairman of World Wrestling Entertainment. This early pastime sort of set me on the track for business. Although I eventually dropped the WWE part of the equation, the business part definitely stuck around.”

Today, Garcia is a marketing data analyst at Verizon. In this role, he is responsible for interpreting data analytics that translate into insights about improving the user experience on the Verizon website. “This is my first job, after graduating with a BBA from Michigan Ross, and I feel really comfortable,” he says.

Garcia works within the broader marketing team at Verizon, and more specifically with digital merchandising, to determine which promotions are given placement on the site. “Most of the decision-making is influenced by data analytics such as how many clicks a certain promotion is getting on a certain page, and how that compares to other pages,” says Garcia. “I also look at how many visitors are coming to a page and what traffic source is driving that activity.”

Unlocking Possibilities

Garcia is the youngest of four brothers. “Both of my parents worked manual labor jobs because their education ended at the elementary school level,” he says. “From a pretty early age they set the expectation that we should go to college so we didn’t have to work the types of jobs they did. The goal was always to just get to college.”

Garcia took his parents’ message to heart, but in the back of his mind he was concerned about the cost. All that changed during his senior year of high school when he discovered U-M’s Go Blue Guarantee during a college fair. “Finding out about the guarantee made me feel like my grand dream of going to the University of Michigan was more achievable,” he says.

Garcia applied to U-M and was accepted. Then he received the best news of all: he qualified for the Go Blue Guarantee. “It was a great moment. The Go Blue Guarantee definitely made everything smoother for me and my family. It was already stressful enough dealing with my coursework, so I couldn't imagine the additional stress of worrying about financial aid on top of that. Without the Go Blue Guarantee, my grand dream probably wouldn’t have come true,” he says.

A first-generation student, Garcia says he takes great pride in being able to say he graduated from the University of Michigan. “It just always fills me with joy,” he says. “Having an education is very important. But having a world-class education like the one you get at the University of Michigan sets you up to pursue whatever dream you have. Nothing is off the table when you are at U-M.”

Building Strength, Finding Resources

In preparation for his first year, Garcia participated in the U-M Summer Bridge Scholars Program. “At first I was a little afraid to attend the program because it would be my first time away from my family. But it was pretty easy meeting new people and getting a group of friends on campus,” he says. “This program really helps students from underrepresented backgrounds who might struggle at the university. You have the opportunity to explore the campus and get a taste of what being a full-time student would be like.”

Garcia also benefited from the Michigan Ross Preparation Initiative, a learning community designed to help students succeed in the BBA Program. The initiative is aimed toward students with minority identities who have demonstrated excellent potential for business leadership, but who may have had limited exposure to rigorous academic courses.

He was also part of the Kessler Scholars Program in the College of Literature, Science, and the Arts (LSA), a powerful network of first-generation leaders connected across multiple institutions throughout their undergraduate college experience and beyond. “The Kessler Scholars Program offered mentorship during my first year on campus. As a sophomore, I transitioned into a mentorship role myself. It was my way of giving back to the community that helped me so much during my first year. And I continued on as a mentor for the rest of my time on campus,” he says. “ It was a really tight-knit community of first-generation scholars that were all coming together to encourage each other, check in on each other, and push each other to achieve really great things.”

Today, with a promising future ahead of him, Garcia could not be more grateful. “The Go Blue Guarantee made all of this possible. My parents are really proud of me. They are also relieved that I didn’t have to accumulate a large student debt while going to college. I am thankful for everything.”