Walmart Associate Levels Up Career with a Degree from Bellevue University

Vanessa Culbreath is a shining example that it’s never too late to pursue a college education.

For 18 years, Culbreath was a stay-at-home mom. When her two daughters left for college, she decided to enter the workforce again. She started as a sales floor associate at Walmart and was promoted a year later to department manager.

Over the next decade, Culbreath received a handful more promotions, including to Academy Coach. During this time, she registered for Walmart’s Live Better U education benefit, through which the company pays for eligible associates’ college tuition.

“I was teaching young adults every day who were struggling to pay for college and living expenses with their wages,” Culbreath explains. “I kept telling them about our wonderful college program, but they thought there was a trick to it. I signed up to show them that if a 56-year-old woman could do it, they could, too.”

She adds, “I had been out of school for 38 years, so if I could do it, surely young adults who had been out of school for less than five years could do it.”

A couple of the degree programs in Live Better U are offered through Bellevue University, including its bachelor’s degree in business management and leadership that Culbreath chose to pursue.

“Even as an older adult, I’ve had to learn to manage my time to complete my class assignments,” she says. “Working around 60 hours weeks and taking classes has been challenging but also very rewarding.”

Her experience in Bellevue University’s business management and leadership program has already made a direct impact on Culbreath’s career.

She’s especially enjoyed her human resources classes, because they’ve helped her grow her leadership skills in a way where she can “be all that I can for my associates.”

These skills have also led to Culbreath being promoted to continuous skills development manager in a Walmart Fulfillment center. Recently, she accepted yet another promotion to Academy Lead. One of the desired qualifications for the role was the exact degree Culbreath will be graduating with at the end of September. This job will set Culbreath up to become a store manager or a human resource manager in the future.

“I appreciate that I work for a company that wants to invest in their employees by providing in-store training classes and a totally free education with no strings attached,” Culbreath says. “But my most favorite thing is that Walmart cares for its associates. We are a family.”

Because of how rewarding she’s found her Live Better U experience — and Bellevue education — to be, Culbreath has made it her mission to tell every single Walmart associate who will listen about it.

“I am privileged to be one of the first people that all new hires at my current facility meet,” she says. “During our onboarding, I tell everyone my story about the Live Better U program, Bellevue University and, of course, my advisor Diego. I am proud to say that one of my team leads has recently been accepted into the same program at BU starting next term.”

Culbreath’s professor, Dr. Kelly Sylte, shares that from the beginning, Culbreath took charge of her own learning.

“She put in extra effort throughout her academic journey—asking questions, engaging with classmates, seeking clarification, et cetera,” she says. “It has been my experience that Vanessa has been focused on achieving her goals while enjoying the process. I’m so happy for her.”