| Nov 1, 2026
Agency for creating personas in higher ed, b2b and healthcare
Clients routinely ask Elliance to create its ideal customer profile (ICP) and personas of its customers. The ICP defines the prospective customers most likely to be a strong fit for the organization, while personas bring those prospects to life by capturing their motivations, goals, challenges and decision-making criteria.
Process of Creating Higher Ed Personas
- Research: Develop audience hypothesis. Survey alumni. Survey industry insiders. Survey current students.
- Synthesis: Integrate survey, enrollment and paid media. Finalize personas, positioning and messaging.
- Messaging & Optimization: Test, learn and optimize. Measure lift.
Higher Ed Persona Example
A Michigan online college asked us to create personas for its adult online students. Here is what we came up with:
Alina Gomez, seeker, age 22
“Once you find a purpose, change becomes a way of life.”
- Chose to work for a few years to support her family and save up for further education.
- Immigrated from Mexico with her family at age 3 with her younger sister.
- Parents spoke no English before leaving Mexico. Alina learned English by watching American television and going to school.
- Selected for Summer Search college prep program as a sophomore at Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. High School.
- Father died at 50 from misdiagnosed stomach infection.
- Mother works two jobs and is now a single mother to two.
- Motivated by altruism, passion, and heart.
- Exploring professions like Psychology, Human Services, and Social Work.
Demeatria Jackson, reinventor – age 25
“It’s hard to be what you don’t see”
- Volunteer for National Court Appointed Special Advocate Association, CASA, working with children impacted by opioid crisis.
- Born in Detroit, MI.
- Had early volunteering experience with Alternatives For Girls Street Outreach.
- Attended CASS Technical High School.
- Influenced by her 9th grade experience with the University of Michigan Medical School Doctors of Tomorrow outreach program
- Follows Zendaya, actress/activist.
- Listens to gurltalk by Adwoa Aaboah.
- Interested in studying Biology, with hopes to go to medical school and become a doctor serving underprivileged populations
Josh Felder, career changer, age 25
“Been there. Done that. Now I want a real career where I make a difference.”
- Works in an insurance company’s actuarial department, where he is close friends with the office’s Network Security Manager.
- First in the family to go to college.
- From a young age, his parents and teachers found that math came easily to him.
- Tinkered with programming and tech toys in River Rouge STEM Academy.
- Has a bachelor’s in mathematics.
- Holds an obsessive passion for Cybersecurity issues.
- Wants to get a Master’s in Information Technology and Cybersecurity.
Jessica Boucher, degree finisher, age 33
“Nurses are the hospitality of the hospital.”
- Associate’s from Macomb Community College.
- Stay-at-home mother of two.
- Takes care of her aging parents who live nearby.
- Reads health blogs, follows interesting health links from Facebook.
- Sometimes catches Dr. Oz and Oprah — and listens to local talk radio show devoted to health.
- Admires nurses in her neighborhood and amongst friends.
- SLoves Robert Wood Johnson Foundation videos on Nursing.
- Admires the role that the nursing staff played at Laguna Honda, a long-term care facility (as covered in the book titled “God’s Hotel”)
- Thinks Nursing may be her calling.
Ephraim Carter, career advancer, age 28
“Yes we can.”
- Operations Manager at MI Department of Education.
- BBA from Cleary University.
- MBA from Central Michigan University
- Is a person who love numbers, exploring policy issues, and connecting the dots between issues.
- Aspires to move into policymaking in higher education.
- Follows: Jack Kent Cooke Foundation and Kaufman Foundation
- Role models: Barack Obama and John Johnson
- Thinks the way forward in his professional development is through obtaining a DBA.
Layla Aswad, change maker, age 27
“Don’t get mad. Get smart.”
- Supports family’s retail business.
- Born in Dearborn, MI.
- The oldest of three in a second-generation Syrian immigrant family.
- Majored in Business at Wayne State University.
- Interned at ACCESS – Arab Community Center for Economic and Social Services while in college
- Role models: Linda Sarsour, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
- Follows Sarah Bahbah, artist and activist
- Believes she can drive change for the larger Arab American community in the Detroit area through Arab American Chamber of Commerce
- Is passionate about social justice and diversity.
- Goal is to get an MBA in leadership
Consider partnering with us to develop your personas.