Small-Town Roots. Big-City Impact.

Earning his Purdue Global degree became a launchpad for this graduate’s comeback — and a new way to serve others

Growing up in the small town of Demopolis, Alabama, TJ Gilmore (BS human services ’22, Purdue Global) says his dad’s greatest hope was that his son would get a college degree.

But Gilmore never saw himself as much of an academic guy. School had always been a struggle and source of anxiety. He loved sports. Music. Action. Play.

Adventure.

“If it were up to me, I probably wouldn’t have gone to school at all,” he says. “But I went because my dad was always in my ear. He didn’t have the chance (to go to college).”

Gilmore did try, although he struggled to see it through. But after a couple of attempts at higher education, and a move from Alabama to Indianapolis, he started to see a future for himself that involved academic success.

He began work at a nonprofit organization that provides services for disabled adults, adolescents and children. A few years in, he could see this work was tapping into something that had always interested him.

“I’ve always wanted to work with youth,” Gilmore says. “I’m not going to say they need guidance — maybe they do, maybe not — but having that extra help, having somebody who’s in their corner, that inspires me to be there for them.”

He knew he could see himself growing in this field. And he wanted more opportunities. That’s when a well-timed ad rolled through his social feed.

“I was scrolling on Facebook, and I saw a Purdue Global ad,” he says, laughing. “It caught my attention. Between that promise I made to my dad and wanting to do better, I saw that ad and thought ... ‘I could be a Boilermaker.’”

It wasn’t long before he realized earning this degree wouldn’t just fulfill a promise to his dad. It would become a bridge to a career in which he could blend his passion for adventure with his love for people.

 

The right support

It was clear to Gilmore right away that working toward his bachelor’s degree with Purdue Global was different from how he’d ever done school previously. Academics still didn’t come easy to him, but as a working adult, he felt the system was flexible and provided access to an incredible amount of support — neither of which had been part of his prior educational experiences.

“A lot of my professors just made themselves available to everybody. Not many teachers really give out their phone numbers like they do at Purdue Global,” he says. “They did it, and when they said we could contact them anytime, they meant it.”

That personal touch, combined with the ability to make dinner while listening to a class or meet up with classmates over a group project, made all the difference.

“I wouldn’t say Purdue Global was a stepping stone,” Gilmore says. “It was a launchpad for my comeback.

“There’s a school out there for everybody. But you don’t have to go to a super huge school and be overwhelmed. You don’t have to go to a small school where you don’t have enough perspective or resources. You can go from the comfort of your home. It could look like that for you.”

Adventure with purpose

Gilmore never disagreed with his dad about the importance of education, but now that he has a bachelor’s, he sees more clearly what his dad was pushing for: opportunity. The degree opened doors like nothing else could have.

He’s now a teacher and mentor at Elevate Indianapolis, a nonprofit that uses long-term mentoring relationships to equip young people with life skills, character development and new experiences. It’s a role he was born to fill.

“Even though I come from a small town and a strong family and I can’t necessarily relate to everything they’re dealing with, I can still give them the fact that I had a starting point. I made it out, and I think I’ve done a few great things in my life,” he says.

The best part? He gets to connect, mentor and serve as an example through the thing that’s always brought him joy — adventure.

“We’re here to expose them to experiences they’ve never had,” he says.

Sometimes that’s at the basketball court. Sometimes it’s through a rafting experience or on a hike. Bottom line: The students find themselves pushing past what they thought was possible and building a supportive community in the process.

“I try to give them hope. I let them know they’re going to go through some things in life, that curveballs will come at them. You can push through! It doesn’t matter where you come from or where you started,” he says. “You can finish and come out on top.”

So, to Gilmore, his determination to finish his bachelor’s degree has become so much more than creating new opportunities for himself. Now it’s about new opportunities for the next generation of adventurers, too.

But there’s nothing quite like fulfilling that promise he made ages ago.

“Because of Purdue Global, I feel like I have unlimited possibilities for myself,” he says. “I lost my dad in 2021, and he always wanted me to finish that degree. Now I can say, ‘Dad — I did it.’”