The importance of education has inherently been a part of Andy Ricardo’s life since birth. “I was raised by my mom in a single-parent home, and she worked multiple jobs, so she kind of instilled in me a ‘work ’til you drop’ mentality,” said Ricardo, senior accountant with UM Payroll. “She would say, ‘You can do whatever you want, as long as you work hard enough for it,’ ” the Hialeah native recalls.
His mother, Pura, has been a teacher for Miami-Dade County Public Schools for more than 20 years, and earned her master’s degree in educational leadership. Naturally, the emphasis on continuing education weighed heavily on Ricardo’s mind when he originally considered the tuition remission benefit at UM.
“I did not imagine using the tuition remission benefit when I came to UM,” Ricardo explained. “I did not know what to expect as a new employee, but once I was able to balance my work life and get situated in my role, I thought maybe this wouldn’t be a bad idea.”
Ricardo graduated from the University of Central Florida with his bachelor’s in accounting in 2014 and joined UM shortly thereafter. He continued to pursue this area of expertise and was accepted into the School of Business Administration’s Master of Accounting program in 2016. “I felt like there was more to get done towards my goal of becoming a CPA, so it was a logical decision.”
Andy Ricardo as a toddler with his mother, Pura
With a year of courses under his belt, Ricardo has already experienced the benefits of taking his professional development to the next level. “This program is much more relevant to my career. I’ve learned more in my first two semesters here than in my first two undergraduate years.” Ricardo hopes to complete his degree in 2018.
Through his new graduate journey, he continues to lean on his mother’s teachings. “She’s an enormous part of my life and largely responsible for why I am so driven.”
To learn more about tuition benefits, visit benefits.miami.edu.
