DaVron Dean won’t be known for just one thing. When he started his academic journey in 2019, he was working at a call center in Colorado. In July 2023 he became a University of Arizona Global Campus (UAGC) graduate. Today he’s a data analyst based in Atlanta, Georgia. Tomorrow he could be in the executive suite. That’s how fast time flies, and how quickly the North Las Vegas native has climbed the ladder in just a short number of years.
“I hate to sound corny because I haven’t coined my own life philosophy phrase yet, but I’ll say anything is possible and if you keep a good positive attitude, you can do it,” DaVron says. “There are a lot of opportunities in front of me. When I moved to Colorado, I really had nothing at the time, and now a lot has changed and most of it – a ton of it – has to do with getting educated.”
A Career Ladder That Keeps Going Up
UAGC caught up with DaVron on a weekday as he left work at Comcast, the Fortune 500 telecommunications company he’s been a part of since his call center job. It was the partnership Comcast has with UAGC that allowed DaVron to return to school and earn his degree tuition-free, and he often thinks about how every one of his academic achievements led directly to further success at his company.
In his daily data analytics work, DaVron relies on the training and knowledge of his bachelor’s degree in business information systems. He earned the role of data analyst while still in school and credits his promotion to his degree. And it was DaVron’s second promotion. He was previously a supply chain analyst – a role he was also promoted to while in school, and one that required him to relocate from Colorado to Georgia.
In so many ways, his career path followed what he was learning in school. His business courses taught him about global supply chains, giving him the opportunity to leave the call center. His coding assignments and database management lessons led to his role in data analytics.
“It’s really weird how everything kind of added up,” he says when describing how he applied his course material to his day-to-day workflow. “It started to make sense as to what I was doing at work and why.
“Now that I have my degree, I’m eligible for one more promotion, and I may even have a positive update in a month or two. When I say that UAGC has done some good things for me, it really has.”
It couldn’t have happened, DaVron adds, if he decided to stay in Colorado and earn his bachelor’s degree at a brick-and-mortar school. He had tried that once before when he left Southern Nevada and traveled north for college at the University of Nevada, Reno – or UNR, as it’s commonly known. Going to school in his home state was a thrill, but he didn’t stay, opting instead to pack up and head to Colorado a few years later.
The online classroom at UAGC gave DaVron the balance he needed to keep working full time while putting everything he’d been learning to work immediately. Not having to sacrifice his career for work became wholly apparent when he was presented with the opportunity to move to Atlanta.
“That was one of the big things that helped me graduate,” he says. “If I wasn’t online, there’s no shot that I would have been able to keep all my credits or maintain my progression.
“I moved while I was in school, and that made it a lot easier, because I could turn in my assignments at 2 a.m. instead of midnight.”
Now that he’s got one degree and two promotions under his belt, DaVron is feeling confident about his next steps forward. He even has eyes on starting his own business, and if it doesn’t work out, he adds, he knows his skillset would be valued by any employer. It’s just a matter of whether he wants to continue climbing the ladder or turn to his real passion: writing.
My degree has shown me ways to be successful outside of the workplace. It has opened my mind into new ways of thinking when it comes to emotion and motivation of individuals and influenced my decisions on investments and industries to try and break into.
A Budding Author with Business Savvy
“I’m a huge nerd,” DaVron says, describing his interest in everything from manga to science fiction fantasy.
While he continues in his daily role at Comcast, he’s plotting another direction for his life as an author. DaVron is certainly happy to talk about his work in data analytics, but you can hear the enthusiasm grow in his voice as he shares his idea for a fantasy adventure book series inspired by Greek mythology.
DaVron started plotting out his story prior to enrolling in UAGC, so the idea has been in his head for years. He put it on hold during school, but now that he has his degree and the job security that comes with it, he’s ready to take the next step and fulfill his personal dream.
He knows there’s so much to becoming a published author than putting words on the page. Fortunately, his bachelor’s degree, and the MBA that he’s currently pursuing outside of UAGC, have given him the business skills he needs to push forward with confidence.
“My education has put things in perspective for me,” DaVron says. “Even if I wasn’t making it as an author, I have my degree.”
An Education With Impact
“The way my company is, at most levels, you’re required to get a college degree,” DaVron explains. “So because I was in the process of getting one at UAGC, that literally opened doors for me.”
In addition to opening his eyes to aspects of business that he’d never considered before, DaVron says he feels his degree has fully validated his position within Comcast, the largest cable TV company in the world. The company famously has interests in a variety of communications and entertainment areas, including cable TV and professional sports, and with his education, DaVron says he is more than prepared for the next promotion.
“No one can suggest that I am not qualified for my position or title,” he says.
The world is wide open, even if he doesn’t want to stay in the telecommunications business.
“Personally, my degree has shown me ways to be successful outside of the workplace,” DaVron says. “It has opened my mind into new ways of thinking when it comes to emotion and motivation of individuals and influenced my decisions on investments and industries to try and break into.”
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Student success stories should not be interpreted as a promise or guarantee of career advancement or future earnings. The stories shared here represent the outcomes of individual students for illustrative purposes only.