Estrella Mountain Community College’s SouthWest Skill Center will celebrate the program completion of 177 students during its Completion Ceremony on Thursday, June 24, 2010, at the Estrella Foothills High School Performing Arts Center. Estrella Foothills High School is located at 13033 South Estrella Parkway in Goodyear. The festivities begin at 4:00 p.m. and all of the Skill Center’s completing students will be honored.
Jorge Lopez will address his peers as the ceremony’s student speaker. In December of 2009, at the age of 38, he arrived to the United States from Costa Rica where he was born and raised. Having noticed the poor condition of our current economy, Lopez quickly decided that he needed a new career to adapt to the economic climate. With the support of his wife, Lopez decided to enroll in the Spanish Medical Interpreter program at the SouthWest Skill Center. “It was not easy going back to square one, but once one embraces change, the challenge becomes the fuel that pushes you forward,” he said.
Lopez attributes his success to the support he found in his family, “Hard work gets easier when there are people you love that believe in you no matter what,” he said. At the end of the 12-week program, Lopez looks forward to finding a career in the field of interpreting in a medical environment, and has been inspired to continue his education to eventually become a translator for English, Spanish and other languages that he plans to learn. “The SouthWest Skill Center has given me new and marketable skills that will help me start a new career,” he said. Lopez will be receiving a Certificate of Completion in the field of Spanish Medical Interpreter.
The SouthWest Skill Center provides short-term, hands on training that prepares students for current and future career opportunities, through the usage of state-of-the-art technology, and as taught by industry professionals. The Skill Center offers many different programs, including Spanish Medical Interpreter, Emergency Medical Technology, Medical Billing and Coding, Phlebotomy, and more.
For additional information about the SouthWest Skill Center and the programs offered, call 623-535-2700.