An Interview with Herica De Casas

Please Note: This is an interview we conducted with Herica, a fellow that completed the SkillBank program in the Spring of 2021. This testimonial was transcribed from an interview we conducted with him.

Tell me a little bit about yourself and your background prior to joining SkillBank.

I received my Associate's degree in Human Behavioral Sciences, I enrolled at San Jose Community College shortly after that to pursue my Bachelor’s degree but became pregnant and decided not to continue my studies. I knew I wanted to pursue a career that would allow me flexibility, so I was looking for something remote. Then, I came across SkillBank, back then it was OnDelta, I thought it sounded like a great opportunity with a really great system and structure, which I needed at the time. I had my interview with Mehak, and at the time, I knew this would be a solid place for me to grow professionally and learn a new skill set.

It’s been such an adventure, I didn’t realize that I would grow this much. I don’t think I would have grown as much as I have if I would have taken the traditional university route. My time with SkillBank was a lot more personal attention.

What sparked your interest in digital marketing/paid media? Why did you choose to pursue a career in digital marketing?

I didn’t realize I would fall in love with marketing until I actually took the course with SkillBank. I was looking for a career that would allow me to work remotely. In one of the first few classes, I learned about the psychology behind marketing. Now I see marketing everywhere and everything goes back to the theories and foundation behind marketing. I pursued marketing out of convenience, not knowing that I would love it, but ended up discovering that it was a new passion of mine.

How would you describe your experience with the Paid Media course?

The materials in the course have been outstanding, while I was going through the course, I couldn’t gage how well I was matching up to industry standards because I was fresh to marketing, but now that I am working, I can tell that the quality of education I received really prepared me for the industry and that work that I am doing now.

Coming out of the cohort, my knowledge, and experience with the internship, I felt more qualified than someone who freshly got out of school and didn’t have the support that I did from SkillBank.

I really enjoyed learning about the psychology behind marketing and consumer behavior. Some of the challenging parts were learning the various channels such as Google and Facebook Ads, but once I got the hang of it, it became very easy to understand.

How are you applying the skills you’ve learned at SkillBank?

I am always critically thinking about why I do things, doing it from the perspective of the user. I always think about two things: is this going to convert the user and is it going to build that relationship with them? I’m glad these were emphasized in the program and I think this gives me a leg up over others.

What advice do you have for prospective fellows who want to join SkillBank?

I think prospective fellows should know, it’s no easy task. It’s going to take a lot of practice and dedication on the fellow's side. Even as consumers, we think we can join this new thing, buy something, and boom, the problem is solved. In terms of your career, it’s going to take a lot of growth from you and learning how to do things differently. If you’re not where you want to be, it’s going to take work to get there.