When Michael ‘Steve’ Bolt graduated from Charter College, it wasn’t just about starting a new career. It was about creating a new life. The former maintenance worker had lost his job in Dalton, Georgia in 2016, prompting a move to Washington State. “I had no idea what we were going to do,” says Bolt. “I really didn’t want to stay in the maintenance field anymore and I was putting in applications everywhere I could think of, without much luck.”
Bolt considered a degree in project management but had concerns about his age. “I would have been 55 when I finished the program,” he says. “Not too many people would want to hire me.” Instead, he connected with Charter College and decided to enter the Medical Assistant program, despite worries about how he would support his family while attending classes.
For Amber Newell, a tipping point occurred when her daughter came home one day and announced that she hated school. “I saw myself,” says Newell. “I started out wanting to be a nurse and help people, but I was young, and life happened. I got pregnant and didn’t see a way to work full time, have a child and get an education.” She ended up working as a Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) for 13 years, too afraid to return to school.
When her daughter voiced her frustration, it hit a nerve. “It was tough to see her that way,” says Newell. “I want better for her.” That conversation sparked a decision: Newell would return to school and get her certificate as a Medical Assistant at Charter College.
At first, she was intimidated, but once classes began, Newell realized that her teachers genuinely wanted her to succeed. “I’m the type of student that’s going to ask a million questions,” she laughs. “I apologized in advance, but they told me, ‘The more you ask, the more we know you’re getting it.’”
Already struggling to juggle school, work and family responsibilities, Newell almost quit the program after losing both her former mother-in-law, who had maintained close ties with Newell’s daughter, and a favorite uncle in quick succession. Staff support helped her keep going, she says. “They gathered around me more like a family than like teachers,” she shares. “I was literally crying on their shoulders, saying I couldn’t do it anymore. They told me it would be okay and that they were there for anything I needed.”
Bolt was also a bit nervous when he started the program. “I’d lost my job in December and didn’t have a stable income,” he says. “I was worried about how I was going to provide and had a fear of learning how to study again, but I stuck with it and got over it.”
One challenge: he had zero experience with programs like Microsoft Word and Excel. “The first couple of weeks it was a struggle, and I thought ‘I’m never going to get this,’” says Bolt. “The Technology Instructor for Success Strategies was really great about helping me understand how to use Word and PowerPoint. I applied what he taught me and found it wasn’t too bad.”
Bolt’s Medical Assistant instructors were also helpful. “I could ask them any question at any time,” he says. “They’d point me in the right direction and work with me to get me up to speed.”
After completing an externship at Sea Mar’s Olympia clinic in November, Bolt took a job with the company as a ‘float’ or floating Medical Assistant for . A few weeks later a job opened at the Olympia site and he now works there full time. He credits Charter College with making it possible. “This was an excellent opportunity and one of the greatest experiences I’ve ever had,” says Bolt. “In changing careers, I’ve learned that I can do something new. I’m finally in a job that I truly love for the first time in my life.”
Newell has also found a job, one that has allowed her family to move into a larger home. “We all have our own rooms,” she says. “It’s made a complete difference in my life. Things have really started to fall into place.”
Her experience with Charter allowed her to grow as a person, she believes. “I’m not afraid anymore. I know that I’m capable of doing things I didn’t think of before. They believed in me, supported me, and showed me I can do anything.”
For more information, visit the Charter College website or call 360-292-7179
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