Jarrett Wagner has never been a stranger to Garber.
“I have always known the Garber name because that’s where my family gets all of our vehicles,” the 22-year-old Midland, Michigan, native said.
But Jarrett fully intended to experience car sales as many usually do: as a customer.
After graduating from Midland High School in 2021, Jarrett enrolled at Northwood University in Midland. That’s where he caught, as he calls it, “the bug.”
Jarrett pursued his MBA as part of Northwood’s 3-in-1 program, an accelerated program that allows students to earn bachelor’s and master’s degrees consecutively.
Suddenly, the automotive world wasn’t just something he wanted to sometimes witness. He wanted to make it his career.
“My initial career goals going into college were focused on financial advising and wealth management,” Jarrett explained, “but with Northwood being a big automotive school, I caught the bug and got involved in things around campus, like the [Northwood University International] Auto Show and building connections, and my career focus changed.”
The 3-in-1 program requires students to have an internship. This requirement is how Jarrett found out whether the world of automotive (and eventually Garber) was the right fit for his future.
And after that, his life has never been the same.
Getting into Garber
Jarrett interned at a local dealership between his sophomore and junior years of college to see if the automotive world was, in fact, something he wanted to pursue.
Spoiler alert: it was.
“I was hooked,” he laughed. “I really had caught the automotive bug and knew this was going to be the industry for me. It’s the environment and atmosphere of this industry that I love. I have always been a huge car fan, but the environment just hooked me.”
After finishing up his initial internship, Jarrett was eager to get even more hands-on experience. That’s when he learned about the Garber summer internship program through a family friend and Garber employee.
At the urging of his family friend, Jarrett connected over breakfast with Ty Mier, controller at Garber Management Group and head of the internship program, and Mike “Wengo” Wenglikowski, general manager of Garber Chevrolet in Saginaw, Michigan.
After a successful meeting, Jarrett was welcomed aboard as a Garber Automotive Group summer intern in May 2024.
From Learning Lessons to Gaining Experience
Jarrett spent his internship under the tutelage of Wengo and the Garber Chevrolet Saginaw team.
From the start, Jarrett drew parallels from his earlier days as Garber customer.
“It’s funny because, it may sound a little weird, but my family and I have always had a great experience as a customer here at Garber and felt like we were treated special, but now I realize that’s how everyone is treated here,” Jarrett said. “I saw from the consumer side and the dealership side. That’s how we treat everyone here, and it makes customers truly want to come back to do business with us. That sets Garber apart.”
Along with stellar customer service, Jarrett got to experience every side of the business through Garber’s rotational aspect of the internship program. He said he was able to apply classroom lessons to his internship.
“One of the biggest examples of real-life application was when I was taking a management and leading people class in grad school at Northwood,” Jarrett said. “And then I’d go to Garber and see the way managers and other people within the organization treated each other—the mutual respect—was just like what I was learning in class. That’s what makes Garber such an awesome place to work. The theoretical things I learned in class, I saw put into action at Garber, and I knew Garber was for me.”
He also met a mentor along the way.
“During my internship, I started in service and parts and learning the ins and outs because it’s truly the backbone of any dealership establishment,” Jarrett said. “But after outlining my career goals, I focused heavily on sales and finance, and I got to shadow Johnathon Boyd, Finance Manager at Garber. At the time, he was a salesperson, and he showed me how to treat customers.”
Jarrett said the mentorship helped him not only learn but grow.
“Johnathon and I built that relationship from the ground up,” he said. “I had to prove myself, and he trusted me enough to work alongside him and interact directly with customers. I wasn’t hidden. I was part of the team.”
From the Field to the Sales Floor
A long snapper on the Northwood University football team, Jarrett quickly saw parallels between sports and car sales, which made him love the industry even more.
“Sports and sales go hand in hand: the determination, focus, drive, being a part of being something bigger than yourself,” he said. “The whole department has a goal and it’s important that you are playing your role and doing your part to work towards that bigger goal so the team can accomplish something great.”
Not only was the Garber team flexible with Jarrett’s football practice schedule, but they were also supportive of his dedication to football. They were fans in every sense of the word—and they proved it.
“When I went back to school, I touched base with the guys at Garber, and they came to my football game,” Jarrett said. They met me out in the field; they saw me play. That itself goes to show the relationship. You’re not just a cog in a machine at Garber.”
Jarrett said he has never felt like a stereotypical intern at Garber.
“Everyone in the organization was so willing to let me be hands-on,” he said. “I wasn’t making copies or getting coffee. Everyone was excited for me to be here, and everyone was all for me getting hands on and get my hands dirty. I was encouraged to push my limits to help me learn.”
Summer Intern to Full-Time Employee
Now an MBA graduate, Jarrett can add another title to his resume: full-time Garber employee.
His intern experience has helped him get a step ahead.
“Now that I’m full-time, those same customers I worked with as an intern alongside Johanthan Boyd now recognize me, which gives me a head start and a sense of pride in the relationships we built,” Jarrett said.
So now that Jarrett knows the automotive world is for him, what’s next?
“To stay within the Garber organization as long as I can, move up the career ladder as a professional and keep moving forward and getting better as a career and a person.”
Fast Five
Favorite food? Qdoba
First job? Washing campers at A&B Camperland
Favorite memory from Garber? Celebrating my first sale and getting my tie cut!
Three words to describe Garber’s culture? Family, Caring, and Motivating
A piece of advice for future interns? Get involved as much as possible. There are so many opportunities that you are surrounded by. Don’t be afraid to go outside of your comfort zone and try different things. Also, ask questions. You aren’t supposed to know everything on day one; the whole experience is centered around learning so utilize your opportunities to learn more!
