Toni Marie came into our ARCHS’ funded program focused and sure of what she wanted. She successfully completed orientation and went directly into her Certified Nurse Assistant training. Toni Marie had been working in health field for the past 4 years but was not certified. A former program completer referred her to us, and she took full advantage of the opportunity to advance her skills as a CNA. She had her own transportation, and although she lived independently with all the bills and responsibilities of any other full adult; she navigated the accelerated program and juggled picking up shifts to pay her rent while in training. The program received positive comments on how “determined” Toni Marie was and strived to complete her training.
Participants like Toni Marie are an example of a young person needing a little support to excel to success. Toni Marie keeps thanking the program for helping her and standing behind her when she was about to give up on health care because she had gotten overwhelmed with rejection from other programs and not being able to move forward in her career. Toni Marie received a $3.00 increase from making $13.50 to $16.50 with her CNA certification.