Wired for Success

Through its Inspired Pathways program, Hormel Foods provides free community college and one-on-one college advising for all children of its team members.

Ben Palmer, the oldest of the four Palmer boys, tries to be a leader and a good influence on his three younger brothers. He is setting a good example so far as an Eagle Scout, avid golfer and outdoorsman who graduated from high school during the COVID-19 lockdown. He met his soon-to-be wife during high school when they were juniors. Industrious and tenacious, Ben is now the first of his brothers to complete community college with his tuition fully covered by the Hormel Inspired Pathways program. Southeast Tech in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, has one of the top electrical programs in the state, and Ben is already working full-time as an electrician in the city, with the goal to become a master electrician, the highest level of certification.

Ben’s father Curtis Palmer is a former Navy electrician who is now corporate manager of sanitation at Hormel Foods after 26 years with the company. Ben credits him with inspiring and supporting his career interests. “He told me lots of stories about being in the Navy on the ship. In high school, I took a class through the shop, and they would have us wire the mock frame of a house. I caught on fast, and I liked the electrical part quite a bit — seeing everything work at the end.”

Ben Palmer with his father Curtis
Ben’s Eagle Scout project was making signs for a hiking path in the Prairie Woods Environmental Learning Center.
The Palmer Family celebrating Ben’s High School graduation.

Hard Worker

Curtis, for his part, described Ben as having been an active kid who enjoyed hands-on learning and a “very hard worker” who likes to keep busy. This was reflected not only in Ben’s current path but also in his high school jobs, which included working at a Jennie-O farm as a maintenance person, where he loved helping people fix things and the fast pace of the work, aspects that he now enjoys about his career as an electrician.

An involved and practical parent, Curtis supported his son’s decision to attend a two-year school rather than four-year college as he had, and he helped Ben with his Inspired Pathways and college applications. They received help from Program Director Nate Lockett throughout the process. “Working with Nate has been nothing but awesome,” Curtis said. “He’s super helpful. He comforts you, like ‘I know FAFSA stuff is going on, and I assure you we’re not gonna leave you hanging.’”

Ben’s debt-free out of college and already working. My wife and I are very, very appreciative of the company putting that on the table.
Curtis Palmer, Inspired Pathways Parent

Both father and son expressed enthusiastic appreciation of Hormel Foods for the generosity of the Inspired Pathways initiative. “With four boys, it was a godsend to have that opportunity offered,” Curtis said. “Ben’s debt-free out of college and already working. My wife and I are very, very appreciative of the company putting that on the table. And my boys appreciate it and recognize that this is something that not everyone gets.”

Inspired Pathways Made It Possible

Without the tuition support provided by Inspired Pathways, Ben’s pursuit of a career as an electrician would have been much less feasible, especially with the added expense of books and tools, which students must cover on their own. The costs vary by trade, but for an electrical program, their tools alone add hundreds of dollars of expenses. Ben said of Inspired Pathways, “It gave me the flexibility to do other things,” noting that it’s uncommon for full-tuition scholarships to be offered for students entering trade schools.

Now, Ben’s younger brother Adam is following in his footsteps, having also successfully applied to participate in the Inspired Pathways program and soon to begin studying to become an HVAC technician. Like his brother Ben, Adam is also working at the same Jennie-O farm before starting college. Curtis thinks there’s a chance his older sons can both end up working back at Hormel Foods in the future. In addition to the enormous boon to his family specifically, he says of Inspired Pathways, “It’s good potential reinvestment into their employees.”

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