Success — Lives Transformed

Vanessa Nevarez

In January 2001, Vanessa Nevarez, 18 years old, single mother of two, decided that it was time to do something with her life. Vanessa had dropped out high school and was at home raising two daughters. She knew that the “something” she was to do with her life was to better her future for herself and her daughters.

Vanessa’s future began at San Jose, California’s Sobrato CET (Center for Employment Training) on January 9, 2001. On this day, Vanessa enrolled in the Medical Assistant program under the WIA (Workforce Investment Act) Youth contract. Vanessa completed her high school diploma concurrently while in training. This day marked the first day of a long journey that concluded with the hope of finding a job that paid a decent living wage and a better future.

It was these hopes that Vanessa carried with her every morning as she woke up 4:30 AM, got ready and kissed her girls good-bye, as she left them with her mother to watch. Vanessa boarded the CET bus by 5:30 AM in Greenfield and would arrive at CET two hours later. Her eight-hour long training day began at 8:00AM and went until 4:00 PM. Then it was back on the bus for the two hour long trip back to Greenfield, arriving by 6:00 PM. This left Vanessa a short amount of quality time to spend with her girls between studying her medical terminology and her high school homework.

Vanessa knew that she would have to sacrifice her amount of quality time with her daughters for a short while, in order for her to accomplish her goals of completing her Medical Assistant training program and high school diploma. Vanessa stuck with this grueling schedule for ten months.

In June 2001, Vanessa had earned enough credits to complete her High School Diploma. On Saturday, July 28, 2001, Vanessa proudly marched into the Sobrato Auditorium, dressed in a royal blue cap and gown and was handed her high school diploma. Vanessa had the opportunity to speak to the class of graduates. She told her compelling story of sacrifice, through tears of joy, as her daughters and family looked on.

In September 2001, Vanessa completed her Medical Assisting program with satisfactory progress throughout her entire training. On November 12, 2001, Vanessa was hired at Clinica Salud in Salinas. She was hired as a Medical Assistant and was paid $8.60 per hour.

Almost a year later now, Vanessa’s family has grown. She has a five month old daughter now, along with her other daughters, who are now 4 and 2 years old. Vanessa has become engaged. She is now employed at Mee Memorial in King City. She works in the Emergency Room and makes $14.00 per hour. She works graveyard shift, which enables her to spend quality time with her daughters during the day. It was Vanessa’s own determination, will, and the hope for a better future for her family that enabled her to be where she is right now and that’s a certified Medical Assistant, a high school graduate, and a dedicated mother of three.

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