Diana
Career Specialist Charley Mercier reports on his customer. “Diana enrolled in the Youth program in September 2023. She needed assistance with obtaining her GED, continuing her education, and eventually finding employment,” Charley says.
“While working toward her GED, Diana was eligible to receive financial assistance funded by the Workforce Investment and Opportunity Act (WIOA) for school and transportation costs. Diana was very persistent in getting her GED, and obtained it on June 18, 2024,” Charley adds.
“Less than a week later, Diana enrolled in a Work Experience Program (WEP), where she is currently employed as a Resource Room Assistant at the American Job Center Southern Illinois in Marion. The Work Experience program was developed to help job seekers become ‘work-ready’ and gain marketable skills while working toward a career path,” Charley explains.
“When her 3-month Work Experience position ends, Diana plans to attend John A. Logan College for the fall 2024 semester. Diana wants to pursue an education in technology, but has not chosen a specific career path yet,” Charlie adds.
“Diana is a hard worker and has developed great people skills. She is very friendly and is a good fit for the American Job Center resource room,” Charley says.
Diana talks about participating in the WEP program. “I love it! It’s a great experience and I’ve actually learned to do quite a few things that will probably help me later on in life. I had really bad social anxiety so interacting with people was very difficult at first, but being around people all the time is definitely helping that a bit. The best part has been getting to meet new people… my scope has been broadened.” Diana says.
For anyone thinking of participating in the Work Experience program, Diana has this advice. “Go for it! It’s a good experience… the money is good, and you’re going to learn a lot of things, for sure. I do really appreciate the help that I did get from Man-Tra-Con, especially the checks I got for completing my GED… it was icing on the cake,” Diana says.