When Melinda Mutter was working as a Certified Nurse Assistant (CNA) at a hospital in Southwest Virginia, the long hours, never-ending patient requests, and overflowing list of to-dos were exhausting. That’s when she started talking with the phlebotomy technicians—the trained medical professionals responsible for drawing blood…
From choosing classes to finding the right financial aid, navigating community college can be overwhelming. Luckily, Virginia’s Community Colleges have career coaches on campus to help students get started, access funding, stay on track of coursework, and connect with local employers hiring in the area. …
*Editor’s Note: This article was originally published online on Laurel Ridge Community College’s website. You can see the original article here. Aidan Gould enjoyed the hands-on training he received at Laurel Ridge, and he couldn’t seem to get enough. That’s when he decided to go back…
Tiffany always envisioned working in healthcare and felt on track to make her dreams a reality when she started nursing school at Eastern Mennonite University. Then, she had to take a break from school: in her own words, life got in the way. As a single…
How often do you think about your city’s infrastructure? Probably not a ton, but it plays a critical role in your daily life. Infrastructure deserves more of your attention, as reliable, efficient structures are the backbone of a well-functioning society. Well-fitted pipes, functioning electricity in residential…
Editor’s Note: This article was originally published online on Laurel Ridge Community College’s website. You can see the original article here. When she graduated from high school in 2021, Jazmine Sebestyen knew she wanted to work in the medical field in some capacity. After her family…
Caitlin Huynh decided to take a different path to reach her career goal of becoming a registered nurse, thanks to Northern Virginia Community Colleges’s (NOVA) workforce program. She decided to stack her credentials, starting with a Certified Clinical Medical Assistant (CCMA) certification, while enrolling in healthcare…
In a “traditional” student journey, you graduate high school, you head to a two-year or four-year college, you get a degree and you’re set for life. Right? Well, imagine you’ve had an entire career, 25 years at a job only to walk in one day and…
While Jeff Wayne had worked as a truck driver in the early part of his career, he didn’t anticipate heading back on the road later in life. He had moved on to installing commercial carpets and enjoyed the work. But following a life-altering event, he needed…
We all do it. You might be doing it right now. Important tasks can be daunting, from applying to a job, to paying a bill to cleaning your house. There’s a fear instilled in these tasks that we just can’t get past in order to cross…