We all start out with big dreams and of all the things we learn, the obstacles life throws our way is one of the first.
“I wanted to be an Air Force pilot,” said Aaron Hamilton. “You get to a certain point in your life and you start having to just accept things for what they are. Maybe this just isn’t, isn’t what I’m supposed to do.”
Hamilton joined the military like his dad. A Marine rather than a pilot who met a girl, and had kids he wanted to raise at home, not from a far.
“You have, you know what, what you really want to do versus what you need to do right now and at that particular time,” said Hamilton.
He didn’t stay in the military, didn’t go to college like his sister but worked keeping the internet and cable up and running. After decades behind the wheel of his truck, he has the knowledge for management but not the degree.
“It all changed in 2023 when they put up that company wide email,” he told us.
Spectrum like so many companies offer a little used perk, tuition reimbursement. Go to school, make good grades, and the company will pay the bills. It’s a virtually free way to get your degree.
“You’re gonna pay for my tuition plus my books. The only thing I have to figure out is time management. OK!” said Hamilton.
He’s not the only one taking advantage of it.
Baylor Scott & White has a long history of partnering with local schools, but this program may be the most unique yet. At Uplift Education, students take classes taught by Baylor doctors and nurses. And after graduation, if college is too expensive, Baylor offers another path: “Come work for us. We’ll get you on payroll, and once you’re an employee, we’ll pay for college.” It’s a big investment, but Baylor says it pays off.
“General turnover overall for our organization is somewhere around 20% give or take. But for those that participate in tuition reimbursement, turnover is only 11% and so we see that those people that continue to grow their careers and their education through the investment we make in their tuition,” said Phil Kendzior, VP of Workforce Development for Baylor, Scott & White.
Schools all over North Texas say they’re seeing it more. In Fort Worth, businesses are working with I.M. Terrell High School to grow young tech minds and bring them in straight out of high school before pushing to college.
In Forney, they’ve built a whole multi-purpose complex to teach high school students how to run a business, skip college for now, and go later. In fact, they’re not just doing it for other companies.
“We have a program where we will help pay for them to receive that all the certifications that they need, including the degree. And so by the time that they finished with the program, we actually, at our board meeting, we celebrated about 30 teachers that were certified fact teachers,” said Tina Spain, counselor, Forney ISD.
Aaron Hamilton may not be flying in the Air Force soon but those management goals are coming into view. Degree almost in hand, ideas of a masters are talked about around his kitchen table, hoping his kids know it’s never too late to chase those dreams.
