Zaira is a Career Pathways participant that has successfully been progressing through all of her steps towards completing the Certified Medicine Aide Certification program at HCC.
Zaira’s accomplishments have been many. Her journey began when she arrived from El Salvador, immediately taking work in low paying housekeeping positions and taking English classes at night. In earning her CNA/GNA license, Zaira quickly took up work as a full-time nursing assistant, where she saved enough money to purchase her first home. After adding two children, the American dream was becoming a reality; however, she still had a desire to achieve even more.
The next step was to earn her high school diploma, as the diploma she received in El Salvador was not accepted in the U.S. In collaboration with the local college’s Adult Education Program, which offers GED tutoring at the Western Maryland Consortium location, Zaira not only passed her first exam, but citizenship test as well.
But Zaira wasn’t done. In order to advance at her job, the next step was to become a certified medicine aide. She took a couple of remedial college courses in the fall and as of February 2020, she is on her final step to earning her CMA license.
Zaira is clearly the poster child for what hard work and perseverance can do. Even though the journey has been longer than she expected, she has accomplished each and every goal while working fulltime and raising her two adorable boys.
