“I started at Ivy Tech with international tuition,” Perez said. “So I used to work under the table and paid for my college. That was the only thing I was able to afford without that additional help.”
Creativity was a skill that Perez has always loved using. That creative eye led him to studying visual communication at Ivy Tech. While there, Perez took up art, graphic design and photography. Acquiring those skills and talents helped guide him as he rose through the ranks in his career—combining them with business.
Perez received his Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) benefit in 2013, which has allowed him to work. Perez now works as a digital marketing manager for Senneca Holdings, a management and holding company specializing in specialty doors. While rising through the ranks, he was able to learn more and hone these skills on the business side through NKU’s
MBA program.
“Supply chain was a love that I discovered within the program,” Perez says. “I initially started the program with finance. I realized that finance was not my forte. It’s a lot of numbers. My respect to finance guys and girls and whatnot. Supply chain goes hand in hand with the industry I’m currently in.”
Perez has ambitions for more, too. He sees himself someday being a vice president for a company. It’s not lost on him the significance of possibly accomplishing that as a young adult who found a new life in America nearly 20 years ago. He recognizes it wouldn’t be possible to even dream of that ambition if it weren’t for the people who are celebrated during Hispanic Heritage Month—those who came before him.
“It means a lot because it gives recognition to the people who have paved the way through a more diverse culture, not only as a society but in our day-to-day activities,” Perez says.
