Last spring, Cora was a senior at the Greenup County, Kentucky, Area Technology Center (ATC), where principal Stacey Thompson described her as “an excellent student, hardworking, and demonstrates exceptional character.”
As the eldest in a large family with many siblings, Cora faces several challenges and responsibilities.
“Her family does have significant financial challenges, and Cora shoulders a lot of the family load to assist and alleviate as much of this as possible,” Stacey reported. “This is evident in how well she takes care of details and how intentional she is with her schoolwork.
“She seems to hold a lot of pressure, and that can be overwhelming at times.”
Cora was already interested in pursuing a career in the medical field and was taking healthcare courses at the ATC when she tore her ACL (anterior cruciate ligament) and had to attend numerous doctor’s appointments and physical therapy sessions on her road to recovery.
And if she had any doubts about going into the medical field, “this experience really sold it for her that she was destined for healthcare,” said Stacey.
In May, Cora earned her certification in Pre-Nursing: Medical Nurse Aide through the KCTCS (Kentucky Community & Technical College System) and was among 39 other healthcare students who all received blood pressure cuffs and stethoscope kits thanks to the supporters of the Americans Helping Americans® Want2Work (W2W) program.
While still in school, Cora used her certification and medical tools to obtain a job caring for an elderly patient in the evenings and on weekends.
“She needed a job to assist her family, and this worked out well with her learning the skills and training to work in elder care through her certification,” Stacey told us.
During Cora’s educational journey, Stacey had come to know her as a perfectionist and “innate caretaker of others.” As such, Cora put a great deal of pressure on herself, always putting others ahead of her own needs.
And as she was completing her final semester at the ATC before graduation, earning money to help herself and her family and meeting all of the responsibilities that accompany that were her main concerns at the time.
“Cora has really loved studying healthcare and earning her certifications,” said Stacey.
“This has given her hope and is allowing her to make tangible progress toward her life goals.
“This is a huge step for her to press on toward her future goals.”
To the supporters of the Americans Helping Americans® W2W program, who are making dreams come true for hundreds of students in Kentucky, Georgia, and Virginia every year, Stacey wants to ensure they know what a tremendous impact the program is making in her students’ lives, saying:
“This program has been the biggest blessing to our instructors and students!
“We are so appreciative of the opportunity to partner with Americans Helping Americans® through this grant.
“Our monies are so tight, and budgets are controlled by state procurement procedures, so it makes it tough to really meet the work-ready needs of our students as they go out to work using the certifications they have earned.
“We can pay for them to get trained and certified with our local funding, but outfitting them with the tools, equipment, and the more expensive PPE (Personal Protection Equipment) required for those jobs has not been possible in the past.
“How grateful our students and staff are for this opportunity!”
