Man to graduate from Tennessee State after 31 years

Jerry Priddy picked up his cap and gown Monday, and it wasn't long before his mother persuaded him to slip them on for an impromptu dress rehearsal for his graduation from Tennessee State University.

Priddy and his mother laughed together as he posed for pictures — a familiar scene playing out in living rooms and residence halls across Middle Tennessee this month as thousands of college students prepare for their own commencement ceremonies. But Priddy's road to this rite of passage was longer and more complicated than most.

The 48-year-old TSU senior will graduate from the university Saturday with a bachelor's degree in music 31 years after he originally enrolled there.

Nashville-area college graduations

Priddy is matter-of-fact when he explains the many twists and turns that interrupted his higher education.

“It’s a long test,” he said this week during an interview.

When he entered TSU in 1985, he was juggling a full course load and a busy work schedule. Eventually, he said, financial needs led him to choose work over education.

He planned to come back in a year or two, after he had built up a sizable nest egg. Every year he'd talk about re-enrolling for the next semester.

But, as he said, “things take a different turn.”

He got married and had a child, and his focus shifted to providing for his young family.

Then, in 1992, he was diagnosed with diabetes. Years of medical problems followed, including a brown recluse bite that exacerbated his existing problems.

His left leg was amputated in 2012. Doctors took his right leg two years later, further stalling his return to TSU. And he continues to wait for a kidney transplant, which keeps him from working at the moment.

But as his son grew into a teenager and began to consider his own college options, Priddy said he knew he needed to lead by example.

He came back to campus in 2014, walking on a set of prosthetic legs. He hopes his perseverance will inspire his young son.

“That’s the reason I did it," Priddy said. “I said, 'You can do it, too.' "

A similar parental example from his mother, Georgianna Priddy, had been an inspiration for Jerry Priddy. Georgianna Priddy has worked at TSU for decades and pursued her education as an employee there.

Watching her son follow in her footsteps despite all of the obstacles has been overwhelming, she said.

"It makes you proud of your family to see a child go through this and continue on," she said. "You can't explain it. It's just a feeling where you see this is what I've done, this is what he's done."

Priddy doesn't expect to get much sleep before his graduation. He's still nervous that he forgot to turn in a library book or missed some other requirement.

But, despite 31 years of work and all of the stress that went into his journey to a diploma, he doesn't plan to keep the symbolic piece of paper.

“I'm gonna give it to my mom," he said. "She worked too hard for that."

For Georgianna Priddy, it represents the ultimate marker of another celebration the family will mark this weekend.

"That's a beautiful Mother's Day gift," she sad. "The best gift I could ever receive."

Reach Adam Tamburin at 615-726-5986 and on Twitter @tamburintweets.

Adults a new target for colleges

Tennessee colleges have taken steps to bring more students like Jerry Priddy onto campus in the past year. The Tennessee Reconnect initiative includes several programs aimed at recruiting and retaining adult students, with particularly aggressive efforts targeting about 900,000 adults in the state who have attended some college but do not have a degree.

Randy Schulte, the associate vice chancellor for academic affairs at the Tennessee Board of Regents, said colleges need to reach more adult students to meet the goal of Drive to 55, Gov. Bill Haslam's wide-ranging initiative to ensure 55 percent of Tennesseans have college credentials.

“Without the input and the successful output of adult learners, we would not be able to achieve the Drive to 55 target," Schulte said. “It just mathematically isn’t possible."

Graduation at TSU

Tennessee State University is one of several colleges celebrating graduation this weekend. The TSU ceremony for undergraduates will take place at 9 a.m. Saturday at Hale Stadium.