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At 45, Rosenda Afman knows she has another good 25 years to work.
And she wants to spend them working in a job she loves. So when the
former carpet mill employee and part-time Dalton State College
student was laid off from her weekend job, she made a life-changing
decision to pursue her dream of becoming a Licensed Practical Nurse
and to leave life in the mill behind.
"I was laid off from work because the weekend shift I had been
working
on was dropped," says Afman. "I knew that I had to make a choice
between working weekdays at another plant and staying in school. But
I also knew that if I quit college, I probably would never come
back."
With job layoffs having increased across the country, many students
like Afman are finding the lack of plentiful employment to be a good
time to pursue their educational dreams. And like most, Afman has
qualified for the HOPE Grant, which offers tuition assistance for
Georgia residents enrolled in technical education programs who have
a high school or General Education Development (GED) diploma.
"Unlike the HOPE Scholarship, there are no age limits or grade point
average requirements for the HOPE Grant," says Joy Carrier, Dean of
the School of Technology at Dalton State.
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"With aid from the Department of Labor or the HOPE Grant, it's possible for workers to retrain for other jobs, or in some cases, just have an opportunity to attend college to earn a certificate or degree that
they've always wanted."
In addition to receiving the HOPE Grant, Afman supplements her
living expenses with a Stafford Loan and is waiting to see if she
qualifies for Workforce Investment Act funding.
"Money can be a problem when you go back to school, but there are
ways
to get help with the finances," Afman says. "And I know it's worth
it. I will have a better future when I earn my LPN certificate. And
thanks to the support provided by College faculty and staff and a
friend who serves as my mentor, I am confident that I will reach my
goal."
Afman says she's enjoying her studies at Dalton State and has worked
hard to make exceptional grades in her technical education courses.
"I have always wanted to be a nurse so that I can help people. I
want to give something of myself and be a role model for others."
While many laid-off workers find the allied health service fields,
such as LPN, Medical Laboratory, Phlebotomy, Certified Nursing
Assistant, Radiologic Technology, Respiratory Therapy, or Medical
Assisting to be rewarding career changes, others are choosing
programs that focus on computer technology.
"We have students who come back to pursue Computer Operations,
Computer Networking and Service, and Cisco technology programs,
those who get involved in the Management and Marketing programs, and
those who like the field of Industrial Electrical and Electronics,"
says Carrier.
"And others like the hands-on feel of the Drafting and Design
program or enjoy learning Computer Aided Drafting (CAD) techniques.
We offer a full range of programs that can be used for retraining or
developing new job skills," she adds, noting that the list of
programs can be found at www.daltonstate.edu/technical.
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