Rena's Story - How EUREKA Helped Her Achieve Her Career Goals

I came to North Valley Occupational Center in January of this year (2001) and enrolled in a business management program. Soon I discovered a course for those persons aspiring to undertake a career in nursing. I knew my credentials and experience were not enough to support my application but I was hopeful. As a child, I dreamed of a career in the medical profession. I left school in my mid-teens, was married, and preparing to have my first child by my 19th birthday. After working all of my adult life and raising a hearing-impaired child, I was able to finally return to school and continue my education at the age of thirty-eight.


		The Eureka program and my counselor helped me in preparing for my oral interview and presentation for the nursing program panel. During the interview it was noted that although I had an impressive resume, I presented myself as being very confident in the background knowledge about the nursing program.

I decided to visit the North Valley Occupational Career Center during an orientation about the services that were provided for us students and about the Eureka program. After my initial consultation with my career counselor, we decided that I would benefit from the Eureka program. I did some exploring on various occupations relating to the medical nursing field. I learned much about the occupational background in nursing and what requirements were needed to meet my goals. I also learned how to use the resume software utility and other types of career assessments that the program provided.

Personally, I sometimes find it difficult to write about my accomplishments. I am a very critical person. The Eureka program gave me the guidance I needed. After spending a few hours developing an outline and list of achievements in my personal and professional life, I decided to use the valuable information obtained from the program to be presented for my oral interview.

The Eureka program and my counselor helped me in preparing for my oral interview and presentation for the nursing program panel. During the interview it was noted that although I had an impressive resume, I presented myself as being very confident in the background knowledge about the nursing program. After the interview the director of the nursing program said she wanted to compliment me on my organizational skills and how knowledgeable I was about the nursing profession.

During my meeting with the panel, I was told that my presentation was the most professional they had seen in some time. Initially there were more than 200 applicants, and after testing, it was narrowed down to 31 candidates who would continue on to the oral interview part. I was selected as one of the 15 candidates and accepted into the program which will begin September 2001.

I have always been very concerned about how I am perceived in the professional world, because without an education my reputation was my best asset. That compliment made me feel very proud indeed. I feel that your program provided me with the structure I needed to present myself in a professional manner so that I could achieve my lifelong dream. This was truly one of the proudest moments of my life.