Elsa Campos is Growing Her Career Thanks to This Under-Used Employer Benefit
Just a couple of years out from earning a bachelor’s in Leadership Development at Providence College School of Continuing Education (PCSCE), Elsa Campos has received several promotions along with a team of four to manage, and is in line to become a department head at Farmers Insurance. Her success is owing to her drive and effort to go back to school. But it may never have even been possible if she hadn’t taken advantage of a valuable yet under-utilized employer benefit.
“The education I received at PCSCE was wonderful and has definitely helped me to grow my career. But it probably wouldn’t have been possible if my employer didn’t choose to invest in me first,” she says.
Campos, a single mother from Cranston, Rhode Island, is a first-generation American and only the second in her family to earn a college degree. Through hard work and innate skill, she worked her way up to become a project lead at MetLife Insurance company (now Farmers Insurance) over the course of a 20-year career. But when the lack of a college degree became a barrier to her advancing further, she decided it was time to go back to school.
She chose to attend PCSCE because the school had come highly recommended by a friend, it offered a Leadership Development degree that was a great match for the skills she needed to build, and the courses were both flexible and affordable.
But even despite it being more affordable than even the state schools in the area, as a working single mother Campos may not have been able to afford the cost. Luckily, her long-time employer offered tuition reimbursement.
“My company provided up to $5,200 in tuition reimbursement per year. That covered almost all of my expense and was really a determining factor in my being able to go back to school,” she says.
“Because my company offered that benefit and invested in me, I was able to invest in myself. Now both my family and my company are seeing the rewards.”
About half of U.S. companies offer some kind of tuition benefit program1, yet only 2% of employees take advantage of the benefit2. Now, with many employees needing new skills in a rapidly changing job market, and many employers struggling to fill vacant positions due to the strain of the pandemic, tuition assistance programs may be an invaluable tool for employees and employers alike to grow.
Campos says that the support she received from her employer to go back to school wasn’t only financial, either.
“The leadership team in my company likes to see people progress. We have short-term and long-term goals that we set for ourselves as part of our annual performance and they applaud you for investing in your own development and reaching those goals that you set for yourself, as well as the goals you’ve set for the company,” she says.
“I started working here more than 20 years ago and there are many other people like me who’ve been working here for 15, 20, 25 years and more. I believe that’s because they feel valued and invested in, like I do.”
Campos is now a senior project manager at Farmers Insurance, leading a team of four in the company’s Agency Technology division. She is currently involved in succession planning to prepare to take over the department’s head position when her own supervisor advances in the company.
Since earning her Bachelor of Arts in Leadership Development at PCSCE in 2019, Campos has earned certification as a Project Management Professional (PMP®), also paid for by her company. She hasn’t ruled out pursuing her master’s degree in the future as well, and that too would be eligible for tuition reimbursement.
“I feel really lucky to work for a company that offers that kind of support, and I also think it carries a dual benefit. It’s not just to my benefit, but theirs as well. I love my job, and I’m excited for the future of my career with this company and what I can do for them now that I have a great education behind me.”
References:
1 Society for Human Resources Management’s 2019 Employee Benefits Report
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