Central Piedmont provided Tim Jinks with a solid foundation when he needed it most

Today, Tim Jinks helps oversee the construction of data centers for Microsoft. His path there began decades ago with a second chance at Central Piedmont.

“I was hungry to learn, hungry to make good grades,” he said.

Tim was born in New Jersey and spent many of his formative years in South Carolina. He started at a four-year college in the Palmetto State, but said he never learned how to study and was unable to complete his degree.

Eventually, life brought him to the Charlotte area, and he worked in fast food management for six years. Following a brief stint as a realtor, he decided it was finally time to go back to school after working in the demanding fast-food industry.

“We were always short employees, we were always short managers,” he said. “To have a day off, you had to work open and close, which meant coming in at 7 o'clock in the morning, closing the store at 10 o'clock at night. You probably had another hour to two hours of work to clean up and everything else. So, you're working a 17-hour day.

“It was making me an old man. It's like, ‘You know what? I need to get out of this.’”

With his desire to succeed cemented, Tim found that Central Piedmont provided the perfect place for a fresh start as he envisioned his future.

“Even back then, Central Piedmont had a great reputation,” Tim said. “It was really my only choice. The only thing I thought about doing was going back to school and starting there.”

With his sights set on becoming an accountant, Tim earned his Associate in Arts degree at Central Piedmont, often studying at a restaurant near Central Campus before attending class. He studied again in the afternoons before heading to his evening job waiting tables.

He went on to earn his bachelor’s degree in accounting from UNC Charlotte in 1997, another bachelor’s degree in finance from the university in 2006, and a Master of Business Administration from Wake Forest University in 2009. 

After spending nearly a decade in the accounting field, Tim pivoted into supply chain management sourcing, which he has now been involved with in various roles for more than 20 years.

Time management is essential in Tim’s current job as a senior procurement manager, and it’s something he says he would tell his younger self to improve. He learned how to develop that skill during his time at Central Piedmont, a place that offers education in many forms.

“I think Central Piedmont is fantastic,” Tim said. “There are campuses everywhere. Anything you possibly want to learn you can take at Central Piedmont, whether it’s getting an Associate in Arts degree or learning how to play golf on a Saturday.”

Throughout his life, Tim has earned multiple professional certifications and also enjoys reading, something he developed a deeper passion for while he pursued his associate degree.

“That was something I've kind of carried on, a love of reading and a love of learning,” Tim said. “I think it all started with Central Piedmont and just being successful there when I needed it the most.”