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Meet Andrea Shearin, a young mother of five who struggled to find work opportunities due to financial hardships and background-related hurdles before connecting with Network2WorkRVA. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Andrea saw an opportunity to help her family and her community by pursuing a medical field credential through Community College Workforce Alliance’s (CCWA) tuition assistance offerings. While at CCWA, Andrea credits Network2WorkRVA with finding her and seeing additional opportunities.
Andrea attended medical coding classes in the evenings while working other jobs to support her family. She received additional support and advice from her career coach, who was eager to see her succeed. After obtaining her medical coding certificate, Andrea returned for an additional certification as a medical assistant. Inspired by her professional progress, she also embarked on a health journey and lost over 150 pounds.
Andrea now works as a patient access representative at VCU Health. When applying for the position, she made use of Network2WorkRVA’s help with formatting a resume and preparing for the job interview. She credits CCWA and Network2WorkRVA with giving her the skills needed and confidence to obtain the role.
In 2020, Cathie Rosenberg experienced an unexpected career layoff due to the COVID-19 pandemic. After learning about the REV Grant through Virginia's FastForward program, Cathie saw an opportunity to pivot her career toward medical coding, a field she had been interested in previously.
Cathie found that her skills from her past marketing career easily transferred to medical coding, and she embraced the challenge of learning medical terminology. Being part of the FastForward program allowed Cathie to connect with Network2WorkRVA for additional support.
After completing her training, Cathie worked with a Network2WorkRVA career coach to update her resume to highlight her new certification and transferrable skills. Network2WorkRVA’s employer liaison worked with her to find the right entry-level opportunities so she could gain valuable work experience. Cathie was able to start her medical coding career as a patient access representative at Bon Secours based on connections through Network2WorkRVA. She has since moved on to become a medical coder with United Healthcare.
Sunshine Lee had recently relocated to the Richmond area with family and was looking to make a career change. She was searching for more sustainable employment than her previous jobs provided and the potential for advancement in a career field.
Sunshine had a prior interest in the healthcare field and wanted to pursue her EKG certificate with CCWA through Reynolds Community College. Her career coach helped enroll her in qualified programs like FastForward and Network2WorkRVA, which could provide tuition assistance and help with any obstacles to completing her training.
Once she had completed her EKG certification course and passed her licensure exam, Sunshine’s connection with Network2WorkRVA bridged the gap to finding a job with local employers. Though no relevant EKG positions were posted at the time, the Network2WorkRVA employer liaison reached out to employer connections to identify a relevant entry-level position at Bon Secours that could provide exposure to EKG staff, equipment, and processes. Network2WorkRVA also advocated for Sunshine’s qualifications for the role, which led to Sunshine securing the interview and, eventually, the job.