Phillipsburg resident Jerard Tyler knows what it’s like to stress out about college costs. As an undergraduate at Allen University in Columbia, SC, he often scrambled for scholarships to help meet tuition.

After the Trenton native graduated with a bachelor’s degree in business administration and a concentration in accounting he began leveraging his personal experiences and accounting background, to guide prospective and current college students as a financial aid counselor at Centenary University.

He also earned his Master of Business Administration from Centenary last spring.

When he decided to attend college in South Carolina, Tyler’s parents made one thing clear: As an adult, he was responsible for navigating every aspect of the college experience. “It was definitely tough love, but it helped me so much,” said Tyler. As a result, he got to know the financial aid representatives at his school and learned how to seek out and win scholarships to help pay for his education: “There were times when I didn’t know how I’d pay for the next semester. It’s a lot of work, but there are opportunities for scholarships and grants out there to help you pay for school.”

After graduation, in rapid succession Tyler scored a job with Apple as an area manager, got married, and became a father. But when the pandemic hit in 2020, he took a step back from all of the activity to plan his future. He set his sights on two goals: Earning an MBA and getting a job on a college campus, where he could make a difference to students. Shortly after enrolling in Centenary’s MBA program, he was hired by the University as a student account specialist.

Photo; Tyler with his family.