Partnership Helps Eric Rowland '19G Pursue Master's
Eric Rowland '19G chose Nazareth for his master's degree in management at Nazareth because the College offers personalized degree and career planning and because Nazareth partners with his employer, SPX Flow, to offer a discount.
"I'd love to become the general manager of this facility one day [supervising 300 people]," says Rowland, 31, a production supervisor who oversees about 30 people in the machining group at the industrial mixer company in Rochester.
Eric Rowland at his workplace, SPX Flow
Rowland's Experience
Personalized planning: Rowland first tried taking a graduate course at another college, but he didn't get any guidance and ended up in an advanced course for which he should have taken two prerequisites. He struggled through it and says the experience was expensive and unproductive.
Based on a friend's recommendation, he met with Al Cabral, the management program director at Nazareth, who recommended the order in which to take the management graduate degree courses to suit Rowland's background. Rowland started with classes related to human resources, a field in which he had eight years of experience, and he did well.
Partnership savings: Rowland's company offers tuition reimbursement up to $5,250 per year, which covers about two Nazareth graduate classes — but only one at the other college he tried. Rowland wants to take more classes per year, so Cabral alerted him to Nazareth's Educational Partner Network, which helps area professionals acquire skills, build their network, and advance their career in ways that benefit both themselves and their employer.
"I talked with HR here," says Rowland. The company became a Nazareth partner and now promotes the opportunity to its employees. The 20% discount saves Rowland about $1,000 a year. "That partnership agreement did help alleviate the financial stress," he says.
Immediate benefits: The courses and the examples he hears from fellow graduate students have already given him new ideas for his workplace, such as different approaches for performance appraisals. "It's allowed me to think outside the box and not just apply the one scenario I know here," says Rowland. His finance course expanded his understanding of the financial aspects of his company.
The 20% partnership discount saves Eric Rowland about $1,000 a year out of pocket. His employer's tuition reimbursement provides additional savings.
Nazareth Annual Fund
The Nazareth Annual Fund supports the work to create and fund initiatives such as the Educational Partner Network. Learn more about the Annual Fund.