As the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic continue to weigh on the East Bay workforce, participants come to Rubicon in search of resources that will help them bounce back to financial health. For Jacquelyne, this meant making a major career move for the second time in just a few years.
As a licensed cosmetologist, Jacquelyne was looking for a change in early 2020, when she began working on a temporary contract as a senior administrative assistant. “I was going into a different field and I was like ‘Okay, well I think this is the area I feel like I can grow in,” Jacquelyne says. “And then we closed for COVID, and I couldn’t go back. I just kept applying and applying for new jobs, and it was pretty devastating.”
Jacquelyne, a single mother of four, decided it was time for yet another career change. She wanted to find a profession that she enjoyed that would also not be susceptible to shutdowns in the event of another pandemic or economic crisis. As she was looking to connect with resources to help pay for school, Jacquelyne found Rubicon and got in contact with Career Advisor John Cunningham, who told her about the variety of wraparound services that Rubicon offers such as financial coaching, parenting classes, and, of course, assistance with education expenses.
“John expressed to me there were some things that they were able to help us with,” Jacquelyne says. “The help that you need that gets you going, and making sure that you are able to complete your tasks—having somebody that will help you when you come up against something so you don’t feel like you’re just doing it on your own.”
Jacquelyne enrolled in Rubicon’s Foundations workshop series and engaged with parenting classes, legal services, and financial coaching. She began a training program to become a medical assistant, and she received funding for her education through the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) program. Rubicon offers WIOA support as a part of the organization’s workforce development services and at the America’s Job Center of California (AJCC) offices in Concord and Hayward. Enrollment in WIOA made Jacquelyne eligible for funding for training and connected her with a WIOA career coach.
But just as Jacquelyne was on her way to completing her medical assistant training, health issues presented a new roadblock, and she had to put her education on hold while she recovered. “It was really bad for a couple of months,” Jacquelyne says. “But during that time, [Rubicon staff] still checked on me. It almost felt like I couldn’t finish but I was like ‘No, I gotta finish. I’m going to do this.’ And they even encouraged me like, ‘You can do this. You got this.’” Jacquelyne took the time she needed to get better, and when she was well enough, she returned to school and received her medical assistant certification. “It was the biggest accomplishment out of all the things to be sick and be down and having that unsureness of being able to finish something…to be to be able to come back and finish what you started is even more amazing.”
Now, Jacquelyne is enrolled in a certification program in phlebotomy and working towards her new goals of obtaining long-term financial stability and owning her own home. “My career path has changed for the better. I actually have certification to do something that can be done during any circumstance,” Jacquelyne says. “One thing I learned from COVID is that you need to be in a work environment where you’re still going to be able to work and be able to take care of your kids to be financially stable in case of emergency. And taking that medical assistant class was something that I’ve always wanted to do but didn’t have the funding to be able to cover it. And they made that possible.”
“I’m thankful for the opportunity, and I’m glad I was able to work with Rubicon because they changed my life in a positive way. The impact that it’s made on me and my family is something that can’t be replaced.”
