By Jessica Mize
Hector Abercrombie loves working with people. It’s only fitting, then, that the former banker for Wells Fargo now finds himself in UH’s Human Resources Service Center where he gets to help people make sense of their benefits, tax information and other HR-related requests every day.
“During a normal workday, I do a little bit of everything,” said the customer service specialist. “I help people complete their I-9 forms and Family Medical Leave requests, in addition to answering any questions they may have about their medical and optional benefits.”
Originally going to school to become a teacher, Abercrombie knew he wanted to switch gears and work on the staff side of a college after a short stint with College of the Mainland. He landed a job there while also taking classes, and after leaving knew he eventually wanted to work for a college again.
In the year that he’s worked here, he’s decided that Human Resources is where he belongs, and hopes to continue along that path.
“It pleases me when people leave happy after they stop by the Human Resources Service Center,” said Abercrombie, who brings more than a decade of customer service experience to the table. “The University of Houston is so big, it is nice for the employees to know that they have someone they can rely on here in HR.”
UH has helped Abercrombie not only expand his professional experience, but also meet people from around the world, which is just one of the reasons he loves his job.
“Every time I meet someone from another country, I mark it on a map that I have saved to my computer,” he said. “So far I have met people from 30 different countries.”
Not from America himself, Abercrombie and his family moved to the United States from Mexico City because of his dad’s job.
Now a dad himself, he spends the bulk of his spare time going to the movies and catching up with his 7-year-old son, Andre.
“To this day, he is my proudest accomplishment,” he said.