Victoria Ricci

Current Position: Digital Health and Innovative Alliances Project Manager at Merck

Story Last Update: Summer 2024

Victoria earned a bachelor's degree in English but always knew she wanted to return to school to obtain a master's degree. She chose GMercyU’s MBA program to further her on-the-job knowledge and open doorways to future career possibilities in business settings – and that is precisely what happened when a GMercyU professor introduced Victoria to someone at her current employer, Merck & Co. That connection led to a job opportunity, landing Victoria a new job with the pharmaceutical company.

Victoria began at Merck in July 2019 and is currently completing her MBA while working full-time. She was also inducted into The Mercy Honor Society in the fall of 2019.

Why I Chose GMercyU’s MBA Program

My mom graduated from GMercyU in 2005 with a bachelor's degree in Education, so my initial interest in attending GMercyU for my MBA was a personal one as I saw how a degree from this university could change the trajectory of someone's life.

When I looked into the MBA program, I was immediately attracted to the fact that GMercyU’s program was affordable and offered a concentration in Strategic Management and Leadership. The course list also drew me to the program, as it had enough breadth to cover a variety of topics from Accounting to Marketing, but also enough focus to hone in on management skills that are applicable no matter what industry you work in.

Meeting Merck through GMercyU

GMercyU helped prepare me for my job at Merck by introducing me to a variety of business and ethical concepts, practical management methods, and real-world examples of situations we discussed in class.

Additionally, my Global Management professor, John Baker, helped me make a quite literal real-world connection after he introduced me to a contact on Merck's North America Supply Chain team. This connection led to my current role at Merck, a role which GMercyU helped prepare me for through the courses I had taken so far on topics such as Global Management and Managing Business Operations.

Working at Merck

I work at Merck on their North America Supply Chain team as a Regional Demand Fulfillment Planner. I am responsible for managing the finished goods inventory of a variety of pharmaceutical products, specifically within the 0 to 90 day horizon period.

My role requires constant collaboration within the organization as we must coordinate with Regional Planners, pack sites, distribution centers, logistics, finance, marketing, and other internal groups on a weekly basis to ensure that our products are reaching our customers on time and in the full quantities they ordered.

GMercyU MBA Courses

While all of the courses I've had so far have been incredibly helpful in my career, the three courses that were particularly inspiring were Global Management with John Baker, Managing Business Operations with Dr. Jill Winnington, and Ethical Decision Making and Corporate Social Responsibility with Tiffany Doyle.

Professor Baker's class was inspiring as it showcased the benefits that come from embracing diversity in the workplace, such as how understanding and working with different cultural backgrounds can lead to transformative results for a company – an idea which is proudly embraced by Merck.

Dr. Winnington's class introduced me to concepts that I would ultimately go on to use in my role at Merck, and did so through an all-inclusive approach that encouraged students to defend their stance in case studies using calculations, analysis, and various operational theories.

Professor Doyle's class emphasized the Mercy values of integrity in word and deed, respect for the dignity of each person, service to society, and social justice in a diverse world – values that translate to the experiences I've had at Merck so far.