Associate degree spurs PTC grad to long and successful healthcare career

As he settles into his new position at the University of South Carolina School of Medicine Greenville, Tracy Pedigo has a good feeling about the latest chapter in his life. 

“It has been an amazing transition,” said Pedigo, who became assistant director of the school’s nurse anesthesia program in 2024. “I feel like I was made for this. I’m where I’m supposed to be.” 

Pedigo’s professional journey began two decades ago at Piedmont Technical College.  

After graduating from high school in Tennessee, he moved to South Carolina to live with his sister and get away from home for a little while. 

“I had no intention of staying here,” he said. “I was just going to get my prerequisites out of the way. I always wanted to go into medicine but wasn’t sure which direction.” 

Pedigo’s original plan was to go back home and attend the University of Tennessee. Instead, he met his future wife, Sharon, and graduated from PTC in 1995 with an Associate in Applied Science degree in respiratory care. 

“He and Sharon are just great people,” Rodney Robinson said. A former PTC staff member and instructor, Robinson is a professor at Greenville Technical College and fellow parishioner with the Pedigos at Restoration Worship Center in Greenwood. “I know he’s excited about his new position. He has so much to offer a new generation of students. 

“I feel like it’s fallen into place for what he’s purposed to do.” 

Coming from a family unfamiliar with the process for financial aid, Pedigo leaned on PTC’s staff for assistance, particularly at the Laurens County Campus. 

“I didn’t understand the FAFSA or any of the stuff,” he said. “It was astronomical the help they gave me.” 

Like a lot of students who go into medical fields, Pedigo recalled his anatomy and physiology course. The perennially tough class was led by Dr. Dale Smoak. 

“He was pretty much the gatekeeper whether you were going to get into any kind of healthcare field,” Pedigo said. 

Respiratory therapy offered a fast track to a job as Pedigo started a family. Many medical professionals can begin their career with a certification or associate degree and continue up the ladder with additional coursework. 

“I always knew I was going right back in (to school) to start working on my nursing degree,” Pedigo said. 

While in nursing school, he met a certified registered nurse anesthetist who felt Pedigo would be a natural for the specialty, given his background in respiratory therapy. Pedigo followed that path, earning bachelor’s and master’s degrees along the way, and then a Doctor of Nursing Practice to bolster his management qualifications. 

Instead of returning to the Volunteer State, he has worked for hospital systems around the Upstate.  

He’s also gone on medical mission trips to Guatemala and Honduras with nonprofit and church group volunteers. 

In 2001, Pedigo was named Registered Nurse of the Year for Self Regional Healthcare.  

He was at Prisma Health Laurens County Hospital when the USC opportunity became available. Now an administrator with a resume full of credentials, Pedigo’s path to success began at PTC. 

“I made a lot of lifelong friends and good connections,” he said. "It was a good experience for me.” 

Good enough for his daughter, Anna Brooke Pedigo Parker, to follow in his footsteps through PTC’s nursing program. 

“She just graduated with her associate degree,” Pedigo said. 

PTC offers 19 certificate and degree programs in healthcare fields. Visit www.ptc.edu to learn more.