Rose Coffman

I was first introduced to Garmin’s seasonal program by my high school counselor. They told me that I could work for Garmin during the summer and get hands-on experience while learning about the company and the kinds of jobs there. It sounded like a great opportunity and a way for me to figure out what career I’d really like to pursue after high school.

My current seasonal position is on the marine product team as a support specialist. I help customers troubleshoot things like registration and updates for their devices. To get started, I was assigned a mentor who walked me through the processes here. They also taught me about Garmin’s products and gave me advice on taking calls and working with customers. Having a mentor to go to with questions and learn from firsthand has been super beneficial.

Eventually, I’d love to move over to the product design side of Garmin and have more of an impact on the devices themselves. But for now, I’m happy to have my job as a high schooler. I’ve learned how to work well with others — especially on a set schedule — and improved my problem-solving skills.

My business class helped prepare me for this position, so that’s one course I would recommend for others interested in this field. If students want to work in a similar role at Garmin, I’d say do it! This is a great place to work and there’s so much information and so many life skills to learn.