Success Stories

Born and raised in the Mumford neighborhood of northwest Detroit, Keirra Scott (Michigan Ross ‘22, LSA ‘21) has overcome many challenges in her pursuit of higher education. A first-generation, nontraditional transfer student, Scott never lost sight of her priorities and goals along the way.

Embracing Possibilities

Scott was attending Henry Ford Community College when she received an email from U-M about Transfer Bridges to the University of Michigan, a program for students at Michigan community colleges who want to begin their studies at their local community college and then transfer to UM-Ann Arbor’s College of Literature, Science, and the Arts (LSA), to complete their bachelor’s degree. “That's when I first learned I could transfer to the University of Michigan,” says Scott. “I knew that finding a way to afford this was definitely not going to be easy, but it would be worth trying. The University of Michigan has always been a dream for me.”

Finding Support

Scott immediately applied to U-M as a transfer student and was accepted. Next, she learned that she qualified for the Go Blue Guarantee. “That provided a whole new trajectory for my life,” she says. “I didn’t need to worry about finances and student debt the entire time I was in school. I could actually focus on my work and be the best version of myself. This support was definitely life-changing.”

Focus on Management

Scott earned a bachelor of arts in general studies, an interdisciplinary degree that allows students to combine and explore multiple subjects. She went on to pursue a master of management (MM) from Michigan Ross. The MM is an intensive, 10-month degree program for recent non-business college graduates with less than two years of work experience post-graduation. This U-M program is ranked #1 in MM selections nationwide for non-business majors.

Building a Career

Scott now serves as a transformation analyst in the Department of Global Business Solutions at General Motors. “I work in the finance area of GM, together with the billing and software manufacturing teams. We design the billing software used for customers who are buying vehicles,” says Scott. “It just so happens that the director of my department at GM is a Michigan Ross alumna as well. I was introduced to her while I was still a student at Ross. I’m especially grateful for the strong Michigan Ross alumni network.”

Scott says her time at Michigan Ross provided her with a solid backing for her position at GM. “I see why Michigan Ross is among the top business schools in the country,” she says. “I had an amazing educational experience there. The knowledge and skills I acquired through the MM program have been invaluable. We learned about everything from technology and AI to datasets and business models. And it has proven to be extraordinarily useful as the business world continues to change at a record pace. AI impacts almost everything we do here — from our financial systems to the way we view data.”

Support Systems

During her undergraduate years, Scott participated in optiMize, an organization that offers programs, courses, mentorship, and funding for students of all ages and majors to work on self-directed projects that contribute to society — whether that be starting a company, creating a student organization, collaborating with an existing organization, launching a creative project, or advocating for a social or political cause. “optiMize opened many doors for me. I became a transfer student ambassador and mentor in the program,” says Scott. “Through optiMize, I received a grant that enabled me to start my own nonprofit, called United Detroit, focused on increasing voter turnout within the city of Detroit. I was also able to hold a voter engagement event. And I received a stipend for $6,000 a year.”

Scott was also involved in the Comprehensive Studies Program, a learning community and academic unit serving 3,000 undergraduate students annually, many of whom are from groups underrepresented in higher education. “This program is very useful for first-generation students and people in transition,” she says. “Coming to U-M from a community college setting and getting used to the workload and the whole U-M experience was a bit of a culture shock. Having this resource available to me made all the difference.”

Fond Memories

Scott says her most memorable moment at U-M was the Michigan Ross commencement. “It was bittersweet. I was both happy about what I had accomplished and sad because I wished my parents, neither of whom graduated from high school, could have been there to see me. But I know they were watching over me,” says Scott. “My parents passed away before I could graduate. Still, I was very happy that my daughter, grandmother, and sisters were there. I was crying that whole day. It still feels unreal to be the first in my family to graduate — from a top university — and to be supported in the way I was the entire time. It really opened doors for me. I'm very grateful for my education.”

Full Circle

A constant throughout Scott’s educational journey was the well-being of her daughter, Kiemora, now 16. “She’s heading into 11th grade at Community High School in Ann Arbor, where we live,” she says. “My daughter was able to get a glimpse of what it was like to attend college through my experience. I’m glad I was able to bring her along on my journey from beginning to end, and that she was old enough to understand what was going on,” she says. “Kiemora watched me fall asleep while writing papers. She saw everything I went through to accomplish this.”

Scott says her daughter will be traveling a similar path in a matter of years. As preparation, Kiemora is participating in the NAF Future Ready Scholars at the University of Michigan, a multi-year, STEM-focused career and college readiness program offered to high school students from southeast Michigan. Participants spend two weeks in an immersive summer camp at UM-Ann Arbor, where students in collaborative teams learn about STEM tools and how to use them to prototype brighter, healthier, and more just futures. “I'm forever grateful that my experience at U-M has inspired my daughter to want to follow in my footsteps and pursue her dreams at U-M,” she says. “The Go Blue Guarantee made all of this possible. I couldn’t ask for more.”