First Medical Assistant grad lands a job!

Silvia Gomez is the first Upward Scholars student to graduate from Cañada College with a certificate in medical assisting. Days after graduating, she got a job as a medical assistant at an optometry clinic. 

While Silvia's job search was short and painless, her path to get there was anything but.In Mexico, Silvia went to school through sixth grade. When, at age 16, she moved to the US and started high school, her classmates teased her because she was so far behind. Silvia dropped out and got a job at Jack in the Box.

Following in the footsteps of her aunt, Silvia then enrolled in an intensive nurse  assistant training program and eventually got a job at a nursing home on the night shift - from 11:00 p.m. to 7:30 a.m. - so she could go to school during the day. She took ESL classes at Sequoia Adult School and Cañada College, then embarked on the classes she needed to get her medical assisting certificate. She was in school for almost five years.

"There were so many times, when I wanted to give up. I ha d to work all night and take care of my daughter and take classes that were so difficult," Silvia says. "I almost quit, but I didn't. Now, I can't believe what I did."

Silvia has no intention of resting on her laurels. She's currently enrolled in Cañada College's pre-nursing programand, after that, hopes to enroll in a nursing program at a university.