UNF grad student applying business analytics to Mercedes engineering career

Racquel Rowell was working as a principal compliance and regulatory safety engineer at Mercedes-Benz in 2024 when she realized continuing her education would help her use data to solve problems and help customers.

That fall, she returned to the University of North Florida, where she had graduated in 2014 with a bachelor's in electrical engineering, to begin a master's program in business analytics.

About a year later, she found out she was expecting her fourth child.

"I was already enrolled in the master's program when I found out I was pregnant," said Rowell. "I put it into over gear to make sure I finished before I gave birth."

Rowell will graduate this summer with her MS in Business Analytics, just before her baby is scheduled to arrive in September.

She found UNF's master's program was perfect to help her balance life as a student with that of a mom and a full-time engineer at the international company with an office in Jacksonville where she has worked for nine years.

"The business analytics program is really designed for working professionals with a family like me," said Rowell. "It's practical, mostly online, night classes, virtual homework and discussions that make the degree achievable."

Fuel for engineering

Rowell's love for engineering was solidified while pursuing her undergraduate degree at UNF.

She completed an internship with Medtronic, a company she loved where she was exposed to the fast-paced world of medical engineering.

She was also very involved on campus as a member of several student clubs including the Society of Women Engineers, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Student Government and Competition Robotics Team.

"UNF is great for connecting students with internships and networking opportunities," said Rowell. "Through the Society for Women Engineers, I was able to network with big players from notable companies like Northrop Grumman, Lockheed Martin and others."

Like the mentors who guided her, Rowell is giving back through mentoring interns at Mercedes, including recent UNF mechanical engineering master's alumna Sayyada Harry.

After earning her bachelor's degree, Rowell worked as a product design engineer for two years at Amphenol CIT, where she met her husband in 2015. They got married in 2017 and she received the Mercedes job offer while they were on their honeymoon.

Driving data informed decisions

At Mercedes, Rowell started as a launch manager in after sales for three years, then moved over the next few years to sales and distribution analyst, associate service engineer, principal product technical support engineering and then principal compliance and regulatory safety engineer. She recently stepped into her current role two months ago as principal safety compliance and regulatory engineer.

"I've worked in a variety of departments at Mercedes and saw the massive amounts of data collected," said Rowell. "I came back to school to learn how to best leverage the data to form more analytical, strategic approaches to our decision making and sales. We can use this information to solve real problems like helping our customers understand safety and reliability aspects."

Rowell earned the UNF AI for Work and Life certificate, which she credits with helping her write effective prompts and creating an AI agent for her job. She shared that UNF courses helped prepare her with practical skills for the real world, citing Dr. Jay Coleman's management course as especially impactful.

"For me, it was helpful to have started my career and then returned for my master's because I could directly apply what I was learning in the classroom to what I do at Mercedes, taking it beyond theory to real concepts I use today in my career," said Rowell.