Geneva Hernandez was married at 15, has been married for 23 years and has 8 children. After a successful career as a stay-at-home mom and raising a happy and healthy family, what else could she want? She wanted her first job and a second income. Because she was married at 15, she didn't have the opportunity finish high school, but 23 years later, she has earned her GED and completed her Certificate in Phlebotomy at Estrella Mountain Community College's SouthWest Skill Center. She will celebrate her achievement with 63 other completers at the SouthWest Skill Center's Completion Ceremony to be held Thursday, November 8, 2007.
Hernandez found the Skill Center through Project PPEP (Portable Practical Education Preparation), a program to help rural Arizonans get a better education. She had been involved with the organization with her husband and decided it was time to go back to school. "I wanted to do more for my family, and I did something; I accomplished this on my own and it feels good," she said.
She had always wanted to get into the medical field, but didn't know where to start, so she began with HCC (Health Care Curriculum) courses, the SouthWest Skill Center's pre-requisite program for any medical program. When she completed the HCC requirement, she looked into the CNA (Certified Nurse Assistant) and MA (Medical Assistant) programs, but found her true calling in phlebotomy.
After having 8 children, Hernandez knew a lot about getting blood taken and wanted to learn more about how it was done. She was told that she had the perfect personality and attitude to be a caring phlebotomist and was excited to start the program.After successfully completing her class work, Tina Anderson, phlebotomy instructor, worked in collaboration with the Program Manager, Karee Peigne, to arrange an externship with Lab Corp for Hernandez; this was the final part of the program. Two days into the externship, Hernandez was praised for her good work, and upon completion of her externship, she was offered a job.
"I've never had a real job before and I'm excited to start working in the next few weeks," said Hernandez. "Everyone at the Skill Center opened their hearts to me and really made me feel at home. It's just a wonderful place. My instructor, Tina Anderson, was awesome. When I was nervous or scared, she really knew how to help me concentrate on my work. I couldn't have gotten through it without her or the support of my family who have been great as well."
Hernandez and 63 other completers will celebrate their accomplishments at the SouthWest Skill Center's Completion Ceremony to be held at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, November, 8, 2007 at Tolleson Union High School, 9419 W. Van Buren Street, Tolleson, Arizona 85353. Student speakers will represent each Skill Center program at the ceremony; Natalie Gastelum, business technology; Joshua Randall, medical assisting; Miriam Chavez, phlebotomy; and Merideth Duran, nursing.
For more information about Estrella Mountain's SouthWest Skill Center, call 623-535-2700.