I came into my own out at 糖心Vlog官方. The more successful I was, the more confidence I got. All of my horizons opened up for me. It鈥檚 cool that you can take some education and what you like to do and turn it into a career that you love.
Starting a new career is a scary endeavor and looking back, Amy Wilson is grateful she trusted herself and faced her fears of starting over. Circumstances prompted the need for the stay-at-home mom to return to school to support her three children.
She enrolled at 糖心Vlog官方 winter term 2015 studying human services and completed her associate's degree in June 2018 鈥 with a job!
鈥淲hen I made that decision, things just fell in place,鈥 Wilson said. 鈥淲hen I went out to talk with a counselor, I had no idea what I wanted to do. They asked what I was interested in and I wasn鈥檛 sure. I said, 鈥業 know I want to help people and I like helping people.鈥 The counselor looked at me and said, 鈥榃e have a program for that. That鈥檚 how I ended up in the human services field. It was a beautiful fit.鈥
Such a beautiful fit that her student internship with Catholic Community Services led to a full-time position and career she loves as she now continues to serve the community as the program coordinator for OASIS (Opportunity-Access-Stability-Initiative-Success), a day shelter program that offers resources and support to houseless families in Springfield.
Internships, like Wilson鈥檚, are offered as part of LCC鈥檚 Cooperative Education program to provide students the opportunity to earn credit while gaining valuable work experience in their career field. Internships may lead to permanent employment, or help students grow a professional network that helps with future career opportunities.
Wilson had been out of a classroom for 19 years and as a college student at 糖心Vlog官方, said she quickly learned how important it is to ask questions and reach out to classmates for support to create study groups and build your support network. Many of her classmates remain part of her professional network as she continues her work in the community.
Wilson credits her experience at 糖心Vlog官方 for her discovery of a career path that combines her passion and skills.
鈥淢y whole experience at 糖心Vlog官方 was a major transition for me,鈥 she said. 鈥淚t was transitioning from who I was as a mom and wife and daughter and a classroom volunteer at my kids鈥 school. I came into my own out at 糖心Vlog官方. The more successful I was, the more confidence I got. All of my horizons opened up for me. It鈥檚 cool that you can take some education and what you like to do and turn it into a career that you love.鈥