Success Stories

Tina’s Journey

Tina came to the Career Center for help figuring out how to get her career started. She has a physical disability that has limited functionality in her hands, feet, and joints, which caused her to struggle throughout high school. As a result, Tina had low morale and a disinterest in higher education. A Career Center workforce counselor learned that Tina has a natural talent and interest in numbers and computers.

Members of Tina’s IRT

An IRT came together that included her mom, a summer youth counselor, a WIOA youth counselor, and the Disability Resource Coordinator. They collaborated and created a plan to bolster Tina’s skills and gain some office work experience.

With DEI (Disability Employment Initiative) funding, the Career Center was able to pay for two online courses in accounting and Microsoft Excel. Tina performed very well on both. To help gain work experience and prepare her for an office job, the Career Center provided a summer internship for Tina and gave her a financial stipend to purchase professional clothes for interviews. This was funded by the Out-of-School Time Summer Youth Employment Program.

Career Growth

Tina found a seasonal job at a tax center as a receptionist. She did so well, she came back to the Career Center to work as a receptionist. Eventually she got hired by H & R Block to do seasonal tax preparation.

With a desire for full time work, Tina’s IRT helped her search for accounting jobs, prepare her resume and cover letters, and practice for interviews. Eventually she got a full time job at an accounting firm doing exactly what she wanted - working with numbers. This allowed Tina to go off SSDI benefits. As of January 2020, she has been there for six months and just got a promotion.

Tina’s Outcomes

The steady income helped Tina qualify for a loan, which she used to get a new car. She is now starting to save to become a first time home buyer.

This experience also improved Tina’s confidence and interest to go back to school or start online college programs. The IRT helped Tina kickstart her career in accounting, and also helped strengthen her confidence so she keeps on pursuing her dreams.

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