Success Stories | Ana
Ana is a kind and caring person with a passion for helping others. Ana has plenty of experience caring for people, as she has lives with her grandparents, and has become their primary caretaker. Her compassion and patience are clear, even before she speaks with her warm and inviting smile.
Ana is a hard worker, so she dove right into the Youth Connections YESS Program for pre-employment training. Through her training, she obtained a strong understanding of the importance in demonstrating transferable skills on a resume. She earned a Food Handlers Certification through Safe Staff and developed a resume highlighting her experience as a caretaker for her grandparents and customer service skills as a Server.
“I am so grateful to the Youth Connections Program for the opportunities it has provided and all the support of my Career Coach. With the skills and tools I have learned while in the program, I will have no problem dealing with life, no matter what it throws at me.”
It is no surprise that Ana has chosen the career path in healthcare. She is open-minded and willing to explore different aspects of the healthcare field, whether it be administrative or clinical. Ana was excited to participate in an internship at Solaris Senior Living until the COVID-19 epidemic hit our community and the healthcare facilities no longer allowed interns on the premises. Her grandfather lost his job, as the company he worked for closed indefinitely. If things could not get any worse, her family’s only means of transportation, her truck, broke down. Ana needed money desperately.
Faced with these challenges, Ana took on the caretaker role which comes so naturally. Ana knew she had to focus on her family and find employment to help replace her grandfather’s loss of income. Ana and her Career Coach strategized ideas for immediate employment in her chosen career path.
Ana applied to Walgreens, submitting the professional resume and cover letter she created in YESS training. Wearing her professional best, she followed up with her application in person a few days later. The manager gave her an interview that day and Ana nailed it! She was offered a position as a customer service associate. In the interview, Ana explained her desire to eventually work in the medical field in a clinical setting, so the manager included her duties to involve the pharmacy. Ana’s ability to communicate her career intentions paid off. With this position, Ana will earn an income that will allow her to help the household financially, and gain skills for her future.
Ana’s dreams and goals do not stop here. She worked hard and earned her GED Diploma. She is now completing her FASFA financial aid application and plans to enroll in the nursing program at Indian River State College.
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