It is possible to cross the socioeconomic spectrum in one lifetime. It’s hard...but what really made it possible was education. Education changes everything.
With their new scholarship for first-generation University of Michigan students from Chicago, Joe (B.S. ’10) and Jessica Holberg are not just giving back—they are reaching back.
“Education changed everything for me,” Joe said. As a first-generation college student and Pell Grant recipient himself, he arrived in Ann Arbor with an equal measure of hope and uncertainty. “I didn’t know how to navigate college, and I didn’t know what I didn’t know.”
What he did know was that he had been given an extraordinary opportunity. After graduating from Michigan with a degree in economics, Joe began a career rooted in service, including several years teaching in Chicago’s public school district. There, he met Jessica, a graduate of Columbia College Chicago, and they saw firsthand how many bright, motivated students were held back not by ability, but by access.
“We met and taught incredible students—some of the most impressive people we’ve ever worked with,” Jessica said. “But so few had the resources to see a place like the University of Michigan as possible.”
Reflecting on the systemic barriers first-gen and low-income students face, Jessica noted, “Our students didn’t lack ambition, they lacked access to world-class education and the right information.”
That experience stuck with the Holbergs. And years later, when Joe sold the financial wellness company he had founded, the couple knew exactly what they wanted to do next: create a new pathway for the students they once taught and served.
Their newly-established Holberg First-Generation Scholarship Fund in U-M’s College of Literature, Science, and the Arts (LSA) is designed to provide need-based support for first-generation, low-income students from Chicago, with a goal of opening the same door that changed Joe’s life.
A Financial Education—and a Mission
Joe’s startup, Spring—launched out of Chicago’s 1871, a technology and entrepreneurship incubator that provides mentorship, community, and support—was born from a simple insight. Well-educated professionals and first-generation college graduates alike often struggle with personal finance as, he noticed, “virtually no part of the education system in the U.S. provides financial education in any meaningful, pragmatic way.”
When Joe graduated from the University of Michigan in 2010, he carried a deep sense of gratitude, a sharp awareness of economic inequality, and $30,000 in student loan debt—which, by his own measure, felt like a bargain.
“I felt like I had just won the lottery,” he recalled. “The education I received was easily worth $100,000. The data shows that even with debt, having a college degree put me on a path to earn over a million dollars more in my lifetime than I would earn without one, and that’s a pretty great ROI for me and for society.
“But I had coworkers and friends from well-to-do families and top schools who didn’t know how to open a 401(k),” Joe said. “And they were asking me to help them understand basic financial concepts.”
Spring provided employer-sponsored, unbiased financial coaching and a technology platform to workers across the country, including managing credit card debt and planning for retirement. Over time, it expanded into topics like saving for education, including how to start a college fund with just $50 a month.
But even as the company grew, Joe remained focused on the broader conversation about college affordability. “There’s a sense of pessimism among our generation,” he said. “We were the first to take on massive student debt, and now many of us feel they won’t be able to do for our kids what their parents did for them.”
That pessimism, he said, is exactly why scholarships—and clear, visible information like U-M’s Go Blue Guarantee—are so important. “You have to plant those seeds,” Joe said. “You never know who might hear it and start believing college is possible.”
Scholarships like the Holbergs’ do not just serve to help to level the playing field financially; they underscore the important mission of one of LSA’s key student success initiatives, the First-Generation Commitment, to expand and foster access, belonging, and success of first-generation students in the college—and send a powerful message that these students are valued members of our community.
“We would not be able to provide important, comprehensive support to our first-gen students without the generosity of alumni donors, like Joe and Jessica,” said LSA Dean Rosario Ceballo. “The Holberg First-Generation Scholarship Fund helps ensure that first-gen students are not only able to attend LSA but are able to thrive and succeed during their time here."
Giving Back to Move Others Forward
For both Jessica and Joe, the decision to support Chicago students is not just philanthropic—it is deeply personal. It is a recognition of the students who shaped them, and a commitment to the future they see for the city.
“Some of the most important work Joe and I have done in our lifetimes has been in Chicago classrooms,” said Jessica, who has dedicated her career to building a more equitable education ecosystem. After nearly 15 years as a teacher and school administrator, she currently serves as chief of staff for education partnerships and grantmaking at Google.org, the philanthropic arm of Google.
Jessica also shared how deeply her early experiences in the classroom shaped her perspective: “Witnessing the resilience of students—despite the barriers they face—reinforced for me that real change requires intentional support, not just good intentions.”
“This scholarship is our way of saying: we see you, we believe in you, and we want you to have access to higher education at Michigan,” Joe said.
Joe knows firsthand how transformative this kind of support can be—not just in easing financial strain, but in helping students feel seen and supported.
“There were points in my college journey where I faced really stark choices just to stay enrolled—like giving up stable housing to live in my car or relying on food stamps,” he said. “But I stayed, and I made it. That experience gave me a deep sense of empathy and a personal drive to make sure the next student doesn’t feel invisible or unsupported.”
For Joe, being first-gen wasn’t a label he even recognized until the week before graduation. “I remember thinking, ‘Wait, that’s me,’” he said. “I didn’t have access to any first-gen support programs—not necessarily because they didn’t exist, but because no one identified me that way when I arrived. That moment helped me realize how much intentional outreach and tailored resources can matter.”
It is part of why Joe and Jessica believe this scholarship will do more than just cover costs—it will serve as an affirmation that says, “You belong here.”
“It is possible to cross the socioeconomic spectrum in one lifetime,” he said. “It’s hard. And yes, I had privilege—I could hide my background, blend in—but what really made it possible was education. Education changes everything.”
Top photo courtesy of LSA Division of Undergraduate Education
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