Finding Joy: Courtney Pruitt ’08 Discovers Her Path
In the photo above, Courtney Pruitt is on her way to her next adventure in the corporate world.
Courtney (Carter) Pruitt ’08, Director, HR Consulting at Hilton and HR Unicorn, grew up in Jacksonville, and UCF was the furthest thing from her mind when it came time to choose a college. She was sure she would end up at FSU or UF, like her many friends.
Pruitt was enmeshed in the high school life at Wolfson High School: a good student, a cheerleader, and very involved in her school with extracurricular activities. She was looking for the next challenge.
“No one was talking about UCF,” Pruitt says.
In a way, that strengthened the school’s appeal for her.
“I didn’t want to go where everyone else was going,” Pruitt says. “I wanted to chart my own course. So, I chose UCF.”
She liked that the campus was close enough to home in case of an emergency, but far enough away for her to enhance her confidence and self-reliance.
It didn’t take long for Pruitt to develop those skills; it did take her a little longer to determine what she wanted to study at what was then known as Under Construction Forever.
“I knew I wanted to help people, and I thought that I would make a good nurse,” Pruitt says.
When she told her mother of her dream, she got a reality check.
“’You don’t like blood. You don’t like needles,’” said her mother, a nurse. “Nursing may not be for you, are you sure?’”
Her mother suggested that her daughter stay true to herself and her strengths.
Pruitt had always been a “people person,” said her mother, so focus on that.
Initially, Pruitt began studying psychology but was drawn to the programs offered by the Rosen College of Hospitality Management.
“For a while, I was considering culinary school. When I was in junior high, I would bring my cheesecakes to school and sell them,” Pruitt says. “At UCF, I was already working at Smoothie King,” Pruitt says, “So I figured that Rosen’s programs would dovetail nicely with my interests.”
She landed in Rosen’s event management program where she flourished as a human resources intern for Rosen hotels. Pruitt had never considered human resources as a career, but the job appealed to her because of her phenomenal people skills that her mother had observed; it put her in proximity of the culinary arts, another passion of hers, and it allowed her to flex her leadership and creativity – she helped create a Toastmasters program while at Rosen.
Still, despite her obvious aptitude for human resources, Pruitt was set on a career in event management, but no one was knocking down her door to hire her.
“I told my parents, I might need to follow this HR path and see where it goes,” Pruitt says.
She moved to Virginia (her parents had relocated), and within a month she found a position at Guest Services, Inc., where she quickly advanced from HR Assistant to HR Generalist within months, setting the foundation for her dynamic career. The position was a few degrees removed from where Pruitt originally thought she’d be, but she jumped in, knowing that she would be helping people in some way, whether in their career, or benefits, or even understanding their role in the company.
A year later she transitioned into the aerospace and defense sector at Northrop Grumman, where she played a key role in talent development, employee engagement, and strategic workforce planning, driving initiatives that enhanced retention and organizational effectiveness. As her career continued, she felt it was important to obtain a degree in the field she worked so Pruitt received a master’s degree in human resources management and employee relations from The Pennsylvania State University.
At Lockheed Martin, she championed a culture of psychological safety and growth mindset, leading efforts focused on digital transformation, inclusion, and career mobility. She empowered employees to develop both laterally and vertically, fostering an environment where talent thrived through strategic coaching and leadership development. Now, as a seasoned HR professional, “I tell employees that they should come to me at any time, whether it’s career related, concerns in the workplace or if they are interested in an internal position,” Pruitt says. “Even, if they want to have me review their resume. I want to make sure I can speak eloquently to any of our employees’ needs.”
Now at Hilton, Pruitt has come full circle, bringing her extensive HR leadership experience back to the hospitality industry, where she looks forward to continuing to drive strategic people initiatives that enhance workplace culture, employee engagement, and organizational success. She has worked in the field long enough that when an employee comes in with a difficult HR matter, her mind and countenance automatically convey, “I am the person to help you.”
At her core, Pruitt believes that she is motivated by joy – whether it’s the joy she gets from cooking, or the joy that she gets from others when she solves any work issues they may have.
And something that makes her happy, she still gets a chance to indulge, culinarily wise, at home by baking and creating meals and snacks for family and friends. Even through her career at various companies.
“When I worked at Northrop Grumman as an HR recruiting coordinator & HR Business Partner, we had a yearly potluck, and it was also a competition,” Pruitt says. “One year, I made a Snickers cheesecake and won that year. The next year, I made baked macaroni and cheese, and won that one, too.” All from scratch.
There’s no such thing as too much joy, Pruitt says, or not helping enough people. In her spare time, Pruitt owns and operates, C Pruitt Consulting (www.cpruittconsulting.com) on the weekends as a Career Coach and Resume Writer, that helps people with their career and organizational goals.
“Maybe, someone will see how I shifted my career goals from hospitality to event management to human resources and think that though you started off in one place, doesn’t mean you are stuck, you can pivot and can find their own joy,” Pruitt says. “To all my fellow Knights out there, my fondest wish is for you to find your joy.”
