Breaking Down Walls: Alumna Barbara Vergel Strives to Live her Best Life

Barbara Vergel, or “Barbie” as her friends know her, has always been a goal setter.  The path to her current position, as Brand and Training Coordinator at Jaguar-Land Rover North America is a direct result of her drive to achieve – and the contacts she made while studying at MSU in the Public and Organizational Relations graduate program. 

Vergel had a very satisfying job as Enrollment Director at a private school.  She was able to raise admission rates by 20 percent in just a few years.  She also loved interacting with the students at the all girls’ school and acted as a mentor to them by teaching a summer leadership course.  “I loved meeting the students and their parents and learning about them.  I’ve always known that building relationships is something that I enjoy and am good at.”

But at the same time, Vergel has always had the feeling that “things are not enough.”  This caused her to leave that position and take another at a technology company.  However, soon that became less of a challenge as well.  She found herself asking, “What else can I do to improve?”  The answer: attend graduate school.

While a student at MSU, Vergel applied to various internships and, in August of 2013, began working at Jaguar-Land Rover.  Having attended and worked in all girls’ schools, this position, in a male driven environment, was way out of her comfort zone.  “In the beginning I felt uncomfortable,” says Vergel, “I wondered things like ‘Are they going to take me seriously?’  Normally, I’m not shy at all.” Vergel laughs when she says that her professors can attest to the fact that in class, “I never would shut up!”  But here, she would be in meetings where she and one other co-worker were the only two women in the room. 

Vergel considers Dr. Yi Luo a mentor who was instrumental in helping her through those first difficult weeks.  “Dr. Luo has been my biggest role model.  She helped me develop my backbone. Dr. Luo gave me a rule to set for myself.  We agreed that at every meeting, I would make it a point to say at least one thing.  It made me step out of my comfort zone.  I grew in confidence and have gotten a thicker skin.”

As time went on, Vergel became more comfortable.  She even took the initiative in making herself more comfortable at work.  The company had given her a cube with high walls in the back of the office.  With the consent of the person on the other side, she called maintenance and had the wall taken down.  “Then, I felt much better; I could see everyone and they could see me and know I was there!” 

Vergel lives by this attitude of making the best life for yourself that you possibly can.  “You have to go after what you want. I had to get that for myself because no one was going to do it for me.”

Vergel underwent such a transformation at Jaguar-Land Rover that, as the internship was coming to a close, she found herself truly wanting a position with the company and was dismayed there was only vague communication about the possibility of that happening.  Once again, Vergel saw an opportunity while attending an end-of-internship roundtable discussion meeting with the president, vice president and head of Human Resources in attendance.  Vergel knew she was taking a chance, but decided to go for it.  When asked how she liked her internship experience she responded that while she liked it very much, she did not like the fact that she was not given the opportunity to at least interview for a permanent position.  “The day after that meeting, my boss called me to let me know that I had been offered a position!”

Vergel has been working at Jaguar-Land Rover ever since and continues to be passionate about her work.  “What we do is train all customer facing staff and anyone that comes in contact with customers on the new upcoming models.  I don’t actually do the training, but my manager and I are responsible for organizing the training events.  We host these events all over North America and Canada and there are anywhere from 1800 to 2400 participants per event.”  Vergel’s plans for the future include continuing to grow at Jaguar-Land Rover. “If you are not working toward something you are just going in circles.”

Regarding her time at MSU, Vergel remembers not only Dr. Luo but also Dr. Bakelaar fondly. She adds, “It was two years of working with the best cohort team I ever could have asked for. I still keep in touch with many of them today and that’s a big plus because it helps you keep up with the ever-changing field of Communications.”