Losing his job - A Dream Come True!

January 27, 2012

His wife was pregnant with their second child and he was laid off from his job of 18 years. Greg Lupton described that event as a dream come true.

“Being laid off opened the door that I always wanted to open. I had a good job installing fire protection equipment, but I knew I couldn’t retire from that. It was really physically demanding and I couldn’t see myself being able to do that up in my sixties. I had always been interested in a career in the medical field,” he said.

He continued, “I always felt that I wasn’t using my brain enough, though the job I had was challenging and was certainly not beneath me. But the economy slowed and I went from full-time to part-time to unemployed in a matter of months between 2008 and 2009. I could have sat back, whined and cried. I felt bad for about a day but my wife said, ‘Now’s your chance to do what you really want to do.’”

Ironically, one of the last big jobs he did was install the controls for fire protection equipment in the Ned Everett Delamar Center on the campus of Pamlico Community College in 2007. “When I was installing that equipment, no one would have ever convinced me to bet that I would be a student in a classroom right next to the control room that I wired all by myself.”

Lupton first enrolled in a phlebotomy course and became a licensed phlebotomist. Gaining confidence in his decision to pursue a career in allied health, he enrolled in the Nurse Aide courses and is certified there also. After a long talk with PCC Medical Assisting instructor, Dale Holadia, and Kenny Weatherington in emergency medical programs, Lupton decided on a final course of action. At 42 he enrolled in PCC curriculum college transfer courses and Medical Assisting classes to prepare him to pursue studies at Craven Community College to become an RN.

“Coming to PCC has been nothing but gold for me. It’s close to home (he is from Grantsboro) and I have had nothing but good advice and good help from the faculty and staff. I hear some students complain about little petty things, but I’m old enough to see what’s petty. Like I said, everybody I have come across here has been nothing but gold to me.”

Lupton will finish his studies at Pamlico Community College this spring and plans to enroll full time as an RN student in the fall. His journey is so very typical of the state’s community colleges being in a position to help so many residents who lost work due to a rough economy. Like Lupton, many used sudden unemployment as an opportunity to learn new skills for a new career.

To learn more about the many varied training programs offered at Pamlico Community College for upgrading one’s career or for pursuing a new career, visit the college website, www.pamlicocc.edu or call Student Services, 252-249-1851. There are also many short term occupational skills classes offered by Continuing Education, 252-249-1851 × 3015.