Every day for 15 years was about the same for Troy Pritt.
He would wake up and head to Sparrows Point Steel Mill for a hard day’s work before coming home, going to sleep and starting over again.
The mill, just 5 miles away from home, had been part of Troy’s life long before he started as a steelworker there. The sounds of the mill were part of the soundtrack of his childhood. Work there was fate for Troy and the generations before him.
His first shift at the mill came in 1997, when he began work in the coated products division. It seemed like a job he would have his entire life, but life had other plans.
In 2010, Troy learned the steel mill was going to close. His future, seemingly set, was now in question.
While he waited for his inevitable layoff, his wife suggested he enroll at a community college. Troy was a 40-year-old first-generation college student who never needed a degree and now needed a direction.
Two years later, the mill finally closed, and Troy, now a double alum, B.S. ’15, MBA ’20, was learning about the business programs at The University of Baltimore.
His introduction to a four-year program was an unforgettable adviser named Jackie whose husband retired from Bethlehem Steel. Her advice: Enjoy the experience and you’ll figure out what you want to do along the way.
“I'm so happy that I listened to her,” Troy said. “I had experiences at the University of Baltimore that I never could have imagined when I was working at the steel mill.”
During his time at UBalt, Troy earned credits while traveling the world during two global field experiences—one to Santiago, Chile and another to Rome, Italy.
He also fondly remembers his marketing internship with the Pride of Baltimore II. The tall ship replica that visits ports across the Chesapeake Bay still uses marketing tactics that Troy developed while at UBalt.
Troy’s undergraduate experience, and the people he met along the way, meant so much to him that he considered staying for a master’s degree. He found encouragement on the brink of his graduation during an alumni networking event hosted by Phaedra Stewart, MBA '96.
“She came up and I introduced myself and gave my elevator pitch, as I was taught in my MGMT 330 class, and told her I wanted to work on marketing campaigns, and wanted to do this, and wanted to do that, and had very lofty aspirations,” he recalled.
When he finished his pitch, she changed his life.
Troy remembers her telling him that his background beckoned for a career in human resources. Stewart, who happened to be the vice president of human resources for LifeBridge Health, even had a job in mind.
“She brought me in, gave me an interview with about five people sitting around the table, and it was just rapid-fire questions. And evidently, I held my own,” Troy said.
He was hired as an employee and labor relations consultant, “which was a big job, but I was good at it, and I’ve stayed in human resources since.”
When Troy returned to UBalt for his master’s, he followed Stewart’s lead toward the MBA program and decided on the human resources management specialization.
Troy’s academic and personal life have changed significantly since 2012. He’s held several higher-level positions in HR, working for various organizations before deciding to return where he began again. Today, he is a senior HR business partner at LifeBridge, specializing in labor relations and talent development.
“Being a first-generation graduate from the University of Baltimore means everything to me, because I am setting the example for those that come after me,” Troy said. “I have a granddaughter who, when she was born, the first thing I did was get her a bib that says, ‘Future graduate of the University of Baltimore.’ … It’s being that voice, being that mentor, being that guide to somebody who comes after me.”