No childcare. Lack of transportation. College is too expense. There’s no time left in the day. Thirty-somethings don’t go back to school. These are just some of the worries our FastForward coaches hear when talking to people who are interested in career training. And we’re here to tell you – we’re here to help you find solutions to your challenges.
Here are just a handful of the things our coaches told us when we asked them about overcoming obstacles and challenges to “going back to school” through FastForward:
- “Helping students feel comfortable and letting them know that there is someone to help them through the college process is very important,” said Barbara Rang, FastForward Career Coach at Eastern Shore Community College. Rang helps her students get over their fears of going back to school and feeling like college isn’t for them. Finding a new career is for everybody.
- FastForward is one resource to finding a new career, but we partner with and know about dozens of other resources to help our students overcome their challenges. “There are grants that can assist with transportation (e.g. bus fares, gas cards) and finding and paying for childcare,” said Chad Younger from Danville Community College. “FastForward classes can also be flexible in that some are afternoon, evening and weekend training options.”
- “I encourage my students to invest in a planner,” said Brittney McDaniel, our coach at Piedmont Virginia Community College. “I help them work with their weekly schedules so they can balance everything they need, and their family needs, to accomplish for that week.” Personal time management support? Yes, please!
- “We discuss family obligations and how class and study time can simply take the place of other pastimes,” said Michael Frasnelli from Northern Virginia Community College. “We want our students to succeed in life. This may mean part-time classes, no classes, full-time classes, and it may mean trudging through some failure before finding success.”
The bottom line is: FastForward Career coaches are here to help you. We know it’s not easy, but we have made it as easy as possible to get in touch with your coach to start a conversation. Use this form to reach out.