Casey Criswell, BSBA ’19

Casey Criswell’s dream to graduate from college was personal – he would be the first in his family to do so. 

Like many people, Criswell had to put that objective on hold after high school in order to earn a living.  He soon realized, however, that to advance in his career, he would need a degree. 

Fortunately for Criswell, his employer, United Parcel Service (UPS) understands the value of a college degree for its employees. Through a partnership between UPS and Thomas Edison State University (TESU), Criswell was able to utilize UPS’ tuition reimbursement to complete both his Associate in Applied Science and BSBA degree in Operations Management in 2019.

“I don’t think I would have been able to finish my degrees if it wasn’t for TESU,” Criswell said. “My job is demanding, especially around peak seasons. The flexible course structure and schedule at TESU makes it possible for everyone to be a student while working full time.”

What set TESU apart from other higher education institutions for Criswell was that TESU applied most of his professional training and previously earned credits to his degree programs. “TESU accepts a lot of alternative credits from other online educational programs such as StraighterLine, Aleks.com and Study.com that can save students time and money in the pursuit of their degree. This was the difference for me when choosing a school,” he said.

Criswell believes that his TESU education has broadened his perspective and ability to think outside of the box at work, which is extremely valuable as a distribution manager at UPS. He has been telling his colleagues at UPS about TESU, and he believes that a TESU education not only will benefit his colleagues personally, but also professionally. “I really want to help others completing their degrees. Seeing people coming together in order to accomplish a goal is always something that inspires me. I enjoy seeing people’s hard work pay off. I’ve always worked hard for the betterment of my team or project, he noted.

Criswell is a TESU Alumni Ambassador and welcomes his UPS colleagues to reach out to him should they have questions about his TESU experiences.