How Gerald Pruitt Used Tuition Reimbursement to Earn His Degree

Gerald Pruitt '25 said he's not exactly the prototype for a business executive. “I have a rough past. Broken family growing up,” he said. He spent his entire life as a tradesman, working in the field as a refrigerator mechanic.

“Yet here I am,” he said, “in one of the world's largest retailers, leading a very high-performing team, supporting my family, and helping all these other people as part of my organization also support their family.”

His path to leadership started when he noticed his company offered tuition reimbursement. He took advantage of the opportunity, earning his bachelor's in operations management with a concentration in project management at Southern New Hampshire University (SNHU) — determined, he said, not to be turning wrenches at 60.

“I wanted a degree where I could maximize my experience in that refrigeration background and just be able to provide a future opportunity for myself, but still stay in a field semi-relevant to what I was already doing,” he said.

According to Pruitt, over the course of the two-and-a-half years it took him to finish his program, he was promoted from field technician to facility services manager to regional facilities manager. “As I went through the classes, they were preparing me in real time for roles and promotions,” he said. “I don't think that without the program in general, I would have been able to capitalize on those opportunities.” (Note: Career advancement isn't a guarantee for all SNHU graduates.)

Celebrating His Achievement

Pruitt traveled from eastern North Carolina to New Hampshire for Commencement at the nudge of his wife.

“My wife really encouraged me to come take some time off and celebrate this achievement that took two and a half years of effort from me and my family,” he said. “The late nights, the distractions, the time split with family — they all sacrificed a lot as well as I did.”

As the first in his family to graduate from college, Pruitt said the fresh start his degree gave him means a lot to him. “It means showing my two teenage sons that despite the roads we take in life, that there’s always a way to pull yourself up and out,” he said. “My one-year-old daughter as well.”

According to Pruitt, it wasn't always easy balancing full-time work and promotions with school and family, but in the end, the challenges were rewarding. “Looking at where I'm at now in my career, looking at the career that lies ahead of me that this degree is helping provide — it was most certainly worth it,” he said.

Beyond his career, he’s also grown as a person. “I'm definitely a lot more confident in myself and my ability to lead in the business world,” he said. “I have a lot more appreciation for things like higher education than I did in the past as well. I think overall that I’ve just grown in a way to where, because of what I’ve had to go through in achieving this program, I’m everybody’s cheerleader.”

Ultimately, Pruitt said he hopes his story will motivate others. "If I can do it with three kids and a daughter that was born during the process and during two promotions and everything else, then anybody could do it.”

Rebecca Cahill '26 is a content marketing assistant and writer at Southern New Hampshire University (SNHU). She completed her bachelor’s in creative writing and English at SNHU and is now pursuing a master's in English and creative writing. Based in Ohio, she has also written for FreshWater Cleveland and The Land and serves on the board of Literary Cleveland. When she’s not writing, you'll most likely find her nose in a book, dogs at her side, surrounded by way too many houseplants. Connect with her on LinkedIn.