��ɫ��Ƶ

Timonthy Widener (BSM, 2021) grew up in rural South Carolina, in a town of about 7,000 people. Maybe it was because of that small-town upbringing that Widener cultivated the values of personal development and giving back to his community. Maybe it was his close-knit family. Either way, those two qualities have powered his trajectory to working as a senior manager of customer experience with T-Mobile. Here’s how he got to where he is today. 

To understand Widener, you have to understand where he came from mentally. And high school, with its robust opportunities for involvement, offers a tantalizing glimpse into Widener’s outlook.

“I was the senior class president,” he says. “I was in Beta Club. I was in student council. I was very active in a lot of the different clubs and seeking leadership positions in those clubs.”

He was also an athlete who was keen to lend a hand to those who could use a little extra help. He recalls, for example, spending his study halls in the special-needs classroom helping out.

This work shaped the start of his college career. He enrolled at his state university right after high school. Initially, he thought he could best help students with special needs by teaching and coaching. By his sophomore year, however, he started to think differently, switching majors to sociology. Then, after a series of events outside school, he moved back home.

“There were some personal things that happened in my life outside of school decisions that led me to … [move] back home with my parents for a while,” he says.

Widener continued to commute to school for a while, but he was also looking for jobs around town. That’s when he found T-Mobile. He applied, interviewed and started working there in 2009 as a part-time sales associate. Within a few months, he was able to pursue a full-time role — and college became a secondary goal.

Early on in his T-Mobile career, Widener met an influential person who challenged his thinking.

Motivated, Widener began to explore T-Mobile’s development programs, but none were offered in South Carolina. The closest was in Atlanta and he went for it. Within two weeks, he was relocating.

While opportunities were opening for him at work, Widener met some resistance at home. “Traditionally, we were a tight-knit family, so there [was] this underlying expectation of, ‘You just kind of go with the natural flow of things,’” Widener says. “I was pursuing something different.”

Widener pushed through and became the first in his family to move out of state. He settled in Atlanta in 2009 and has experienced a series of rewards. He’s gone through three development programs and been promoted to six different roles at T-Mobile. He’s also won two national awards: the Annual Winners Circle and the PEAK Award, which is awarded to the top 1% of the company and included a trip to Hawaii in 2017.

That same year, Widener was promoted out of a retail store leadership position and into a district manager role. He honed his leadership skills here for five years before being promoted to rural market manager in 2020. 

The next two years saw Widener embark on a personal development quest that involved working with Kevin Legette, a senior manager for small market and rural areas sales. The goal? To develop a brand presence in an underserved market.

Their relationship quickly matured into a meaningful one rooted in continuous development. 

It was during this season of self-discovery that Widener realized it was time to finish his degree. During his years in Atlanta, he had tried a few online college courses but never established a consistent rhythm.

“I always prioritized T-Mobile and development in my career and what it was returning to me over finishing the degree,” says Widener. “I was just growing so rapidly and felt like there was no need to go get the degree if I was still accomplishing everything else.”

Yet, in the back of his mind, Widener was aware a day might come when the achievements would plateau without a degree.

“There were certain positions [at T-Mobile] that required a degree,” Widener says. “That was a common thread. Then there was a particular moment in an informational interview [when] the person I was speaking with confirmed for me: Maybe not today, but maybe five to 10 years from now, … there will be a point where [I would] not qualify based off of that [no degree].”

Widener heard the message. He also had personal reasons for completing what he’d started. His sister had finished college, and Widener wanted to set the right example for her sons.

“I’m their only uncle, so there were just these family dynamics and kind of success and proud moments that I wanted to create for my family and also be an example for my nephews and finish out that traditional view that they have always had,” says Widener.

Legette knew he could accomplish this just as he’d accomplished so many other things. “Tim is one of the most focused and driven individuals I’ve had the privilege to work with,” he says.

The work-from-home environment of 2020 offered up at least one silver lining: It was the perfect time to go back to school. Widener knew he wanted something different from his previous attempts and soon found that the ��ɫ��Ƶ offered a compelling blend of strong program options, flexibility and a tuition reimbursement benefit with T-Mobile.

He enrolled in the Bachelor of Science in Management and completed it in under two years, thanks to his transfer credits. As he progressed, he learned skills that he could apply in real time toward his job with T-Mobile and in the executive leadership program he was simultaneously completing.

Widener elaborates: “I would learn something about group collaboration, or I would learn a new tool through a course at ��ɫ��Ƶ, and then I would be able to immediately apply that new tool in a group collaborative setting. It was very symbiotic in the way that everything worked at that time.”

The biggest challenge for Widener was adjusting his schedule to complete his coursework outside of his day job. That translated to Saturday mornings.

“I just felt like there was always something that I was missing out on because I was at home. But the reality is there was nothing happening between 8 a.m. and noon on a Saturday. It was all in my head,” he says with a laugh.

Degree now in hand and Saturday mornings wide open once again, what is Widener’s next goal?

“It is still being highly mobile within the organization,” he says, but his vision has shifted.  “It’s not necessarily an upward mobility in hierarchy and rank now. It’s more of a ‘Where’s my greatest value and impact based off of the things that I enjoy doing, and how can I better serve people?’”

From his high school days spent helping students with special needs to growing into a servant leader as an adult, Widener continues to do things his way. That comes with a fair amount of uncertainty that he accepts.

“I don’t know where the next landing spot is,” he says. “I think the fun part now is exploring roles that are more non-traditional that I feel in my spirit [and] gravitate to.”

Find out if your employer is one of the more than 1,000 organizations ��ɫ��Ƶ works with to offer education benefits.

Meet Phoenixes like Timothy. Make connections, build relationships and be part of a growing community. Join a chapter!