Demetrius Watkins – New Albany, KY

IT to the FBI? One LBU Associate Dreams of Law Enforcement Career

Demetrius Watkins is a six-year Walmart associate who had an epiphany one day on the traditional path to college.

"I was talking to a college counselor where I wanted to go school, and as she was telling me how much it was all going to cost. I remember thinking to myself, ‘I don’t think I can afford this, and I don’t want to be in debt for the rest of my life,’" Watkins said.

According to the College Board, the average amount of student debt for borrowers at public four-year schools is $27,200 and increases to $33,500 for borrowers at private four-year schools. And according to a study by One Wisconsin, the average time it takes to pay off that student debt is 21 years.

So Watkins decided to consider other options for college, and he took a job at Walmart in the interim.

"When I first learned about LBU, I was like, ‘This has to be too good to be true,’" Watkins said. "But once I saw the offer was real – that I could go to college for a dollar a day – I knew I absolutely had to do it."

Watkins wants to go into law enforcement someday, so he’s studying information technology in the hopes he could use his knowledge to drive a meaningful career with the police or FBI.

He says LBU has provided him extraordinary value, and his only wish is that more people would take advantage of the program.

"I think there are people all over the company who could benefit so hugely from this, just like I have," Watkins said. "Any new hires who come into our store, this is the very first thing I tell them about."