Building on Experience: Tyrone Freeman’s Path to Electromechanical Engineer
When the certificate of Tyrone Freeman's bachelor's degree from ECPI University arrived in the mail, he had a reaction he didn't expect.
"I cried," he said.
For Tyrone, seeing his name on the degree marked the finish line of a year's long goal of completing his bachelor’s degree. His path included multiple jobs, becoming a father, and time at a traditional 4-year university. But once he was able to focus on completing his degree at ECPI, the University’s accelerated path helped him cross the finish line.
"Seeing my degree with my name on it saying that I had completed my bachelor's degree, it was a sense of satisfaction that I had never felt before"
Tyrone completed his Bachelor of Science in Electronics Engineering Technology with a concentration in Mechatronics, completing a goal he had held for years and sparking new goals and dreams for the future.
Technical Mindset to Technical Capability
Tyrone first enrolled at a traditional university after graduating from high school in 2009. He spent about three years there before realizing the traditional classroom environment wasn't a strong fit for how he approached technical concepts. He had always been someone who wanted to understand how individual parts came together to make something work.
"I've always been considered a nerd or a geek because I just love learning how things work. Even as a child, I liked to take things apart and see the inner workings," he said.
That curiosity eventually led Tyrone into automotive technology and industrial maintenance. This career path gave him years of technical experience, but the unfinished bachelor's degree loomed in his mind.
"I remember thinking I wanted to do more. I knew that getting a degree would help me grow even more," he said. "I didn't want to turn wrenches for the rest of my life or leave that bachelor's degree unfinished."
When Tyrone discovered ECPI University, the accelerated format, technology programs, and hands-on application. The five-week terms and a structured course schedule gave him a clear path forward, and the small class sizes allowed him to build relationships with professors and advisors.
As he progressed through the Mechatronics concentration at ECPI University, Tyrone had several opportunities to connect technical concepts to physical systems through hands-on application with programmable logic controllers, integrated circuits, motors, and automated systems.
One of the biggest things that stood out to Tyrone was working with programmable logic controllers (PLCs). In his previous roles, he had been exposed to PLCs and worked alongside technicians who programmed and troubleshot the systems, but he hadn’t worked directly with the technology. At ECPI, his coursework gave him hands-on experience programming, testing and troubleshooting PLCs, helping him better understand the systems behind the equipment he had spent years maintaining.
"I never fully understood PLCs and now having that understanding and looking back, it completely broadened my horizons and understanding of everything," Tyrone said. “In classes, we were put in real-life scenarios that we would be seeing in our future careers.”
Credentials That Strengthen the Degree
For Tyrone, earning a degree that helped him achieve his long-term career goals was important and that included an ABET-accredited program.
“It means a lot to me to have an ABET accredited degree,” he said. He views the degree as the starting point for his career which includes taking the Fundamentals of Engineering Exam, getting licensed, and eventually opening his own engineering firm.
Along with ABET accredited degree programs, ECPI provides students and recent graduates access to a Certification Hub within the Student Portal to earn leading industry certifications at a reduced cost helping strengthen workforce readiness and validate technical capability.
“Those certifications coupled with your degree are major resume boosters,” said Tyrone. “They help you stand out to employers because the degree says you know it, but the certifications show you know what you’re talking about, and you know how to do the work.”
Tyrone plans to earn AutoCAD and Python Programming certifications to strategically build out the credentials that will be most relevant to his work as an engineer.
A Foundation for the Future
Tyrone’s journey to a bachelor’s degree took longer than he originally planned, but his goal became achievable through intentional, accelerated courses that built upon his previous experience in automotive work and industrial maintenance to become an electromechanical engineer.
Now, with his degree and new role, Tyrone is looking forward to what comes next including developing as an engineer, pursuing additional certifications and continuing along the professional engineering path he has set for himself.
“I feel like my dreams are being fulfilled, and this is just the beginning of what I want to do,” said Tyrone.
About the Author: Sarah Campo
Sarah Campo is the Director of Alumni Engagement at ECPI University. She is passionate about sharing graduate stories, celebrating their achievements, and building meaningful connections that continue beyond graduation.
