Finding His Path In Modern Marketing

Already working in the marketing field, a growing curiosity about the industry led Erick Portillo to enroll in our Certificate Program in Marketing as a way to advance his skills and expand his career opportunities.

Today, Erick works in a role that seamlessly blends creativity, analytics and strategy—exactly the combination that first drew him to marketing. He recently stepped into a new position as a digital marketing specialist in the B2B tech space, where he supports data-driven marketing initiatives that connect strategy with execution.

In this role, Erick manages and develops targeted email marketing campaigns, designs  landing pages to support digital initiatives, and analyzes campaign performance to deliver clear, measurable KPIs. He also oversees a CRM database, strategically segments customer data to optimize outreach all while maintaining data integrity and cleanliness across other marketing technologies. 
Erick shares how our certificate strengthened his skill set, empowered his confidence and set him on a path toward meaningful professional growth.

Building a Strong Marketing Foundation

Reflecting on his experience in the certificate, Erick says the hands-on coursework gave him both technical skills and strategic insight.

The Digital Marketing course introduced Erick to the foundations of technical SEO and gave him practical experience with tools such as Google Analytics. Strategic Marketing Analytics helped him understand market analysis, forecasting and how data informs long-term strategy. And strategic brand management taught him how to evaluate and protect an organization’s reputation, while introducing key brand equity metrics.

Together, these courses—in addition to taking Marketing Strategy, Social Media Marketing Strategies, Marketing Management and Copywriting Communications for Marketing Professionals —helped Erick develop “a strategic lens, an open mind for new marketing approaches and an eye for analytics”—all essential in today’s fast-changing industry.

Balancing Work, Life and Learning

Flexibility played a major role in Erick’s success. He completed the program while working full time, thanks to the option to attend classes online and choose course sections that fit his schedule.

Erick encourages future marketing certificate students to plan ahead as soon as new course schedules are released.
“Signing up for the marketing certificate’s monthly emails helped me map out the timeslots that worked best with my job,” he says. “And take your time—there’s no rush. Enjoy the experience and give yourself space to live your life, too.”

Spotlight on Emerging Trends

When asked about the biggest shift in how brands engage with audiences today, Erick points to one clear force: video.
Short-form video, particularly through platforms like TikTok, has transformed content consumption and created entirely new marketing channels.

“It’s not just for creators anymore,” he explains. “Businesses are using it for commercial purposes, and marketers like me can now run highly targeted campaigns on these platforms.”

Blending Creativity and Data

Erick thrives at the intersection of storytelling and analytics—one of marketing’s most exciting spaces. In his current role, email marketing is a prime example of this balance.

“The ‘art’ is crafting emails that are visually appealing and engaging,” he explains. “The ‘science’ is tracking the performance data—who opened, who scrolled, who clicked. Those metrics tell the story of the customer journey, and you can leverage the data to improve future efforts.”

Growing as a Professional

For Erick, our marketing certificate delivered exactly what he hoped for: deeper expertise, greater confidence and expanded career possibilities.

The coursework helped him build both hard and soft skills, and many assignments ultimately became pieces he could use in a professional portfolio—especially valuable for those transitioning into marketing roles.

“It reassured me that I can bring more to the table,” he says. “There are so many directions you can go as a marketer, and the program really widens those options.”

Erick wants new and prospective students to know that marketing is a wide and welcoming field with room for exploration.

“Career pivots are normal. I began in content creation and eventually moved into a role where I oversee web development, automation and data analytics—and I’m happier than ever,” he says. “If you're on the fence, take that first step. You might be inches away from the career that gives you fulfillment and stability.”