When Jahaira came to YJC, she had been going to school, working in customer service, and trying to figure out a plan for her career. She was directed to YJC by Chicago Community Learning Center (CCLC) and signed up for services, in what she describes as “honestly the best decision ever.”
Through her participation in YJC’s career coaching, financial coaching, and healthcare program, Jahaira gained a bouquet of benefits. She learned basics like workplace etiquette and how a resume should look, and she got help in identifying and homing in on her professional path (nursing). Jahaira also benefitted greatly from YJC’s financial coaching. She learned about credit and boosted her credit score to a respectable 710.
YJC helped Jahaira complete her studies at CCLC, providing gas cards to get to and from school as well as scrubs to wear to school and interviews. She notes that this was a big help to her budget—and her career, as Jahaira now boasts an impressive list of credentials: CNA certification, EKG certification, phlebotomy certification, PCT certification, and a pharmacy technician license. Now she has moved on to Malcolm X College, where she’s taking her prerequisites to be able to apply to their RN program. YJC’s tutoring services are helping Jahaira stay on top of her studies and prepare for her state exams.
Thanks to her participation in YJC’s programs, Jahaira also earned a Paid Work Experience at Walgreens, where she worked as a pharmacy technician and got to learn about medicine and get real-world healthcare experience. She especially enjoyed “helping patients feel more comfortable also making a big difference in people’s lives.”
A highlight of Jahaira’s YJC experience is her connection with her coach Sara. “My career coach has been incredibility supportive, always encouraging me to step out of my comfort zone and believe in myself, never giving up on me,” she says. “We have grown a bond; I look at my career coach as family now.”
The admiration is mutual! Career coach Sara shares, “Jahaira is an amazing client. She is so determined, kind, and driven… Although she’s my client, she’s taught me so many skills that she implements in her life that I use to help myself with [preventing] burnout!”
Jahaira’s immediate plans include completing her schooling and beginning her career as an RN (with a dream of working at Northwestern Medicine). Thanks to her savvy utilization of the resources at YJC as well as what career coach Sara calls her “superpower” of creating balance in her life, Jahaira is well on her way!
