Woman loses job, but finds an education and career
Terri Rond found success after going back to school to earn her GED and find a new career.
When Terri Rond was laid off from her job in the print industry last year, she never thought she would have to worry about going back to school. But when the then 55-year-old Rond started hunting for a new job, she discovered she needed to retest for her GED because she hadn’t actually finished all the requirements when she took the test several years ago.
Fiercely independent, Rond says she never liked school growing up. In fact, she hated it so much, she went to an independent learning center to finish her high school career. Once she graduated, she hit the ground running going directly into the workforce, moving into her own apartment and buying her own car several months later. Rond believed she had everything she needed. But, in the uncertain economy and struggling job market in 2010, Rond discovered it was harder to find a job than she thought it would be. She recognized she wasn’t nearly as computer literate as she thought and without a GED, she was at a severe disadvantage to other candidates. “At first, I wasn’t even concerned because I had never been out of work before,” Rond says. “But after I did the Census, I realized that I was qualified to do nothing. I was very good at what I did and I made a lot of money, but … I knew I had to get serious about finding work. It was very sobering.”
“You kind of set yourself up for failure when you apply to jobs you’re not qualified to do and it demoralizes you. Furthering your education will help you compete for a job.”
Terri Rond
Rond went back to school at Elk Grove Adult and Community Education (EGACE) to complete her GED but found herself learning much more. A counselor placed Rond in a medical office assistant training program to teach her some valuable skills. The program got her excited about learning and getting back on track toward her GED, but most of all, she was excited about learning in an environment she was comfortable in. “I was really, really lucky because everyone here was accustomed to people like me ––– adults. I was a little embarrassed coming here in that I stereotyped the kind of people who were unemployed and who needed adult education and the last person I envisioned needing it was someone like myself.”
Rond says the teachers not only helped her find confidence, they also helped her find a job for a large distribution center in Galt using the skills she learned at EGACE. Rond encourages anyone who is seeking work and needing to go back for an education to contact an adult school.
“Go to an adult education center and get your skills where they need to be,” Rond says. “You kind of set yourself up for failure when you apply to jobs you’re not qualified to do and it demoralizes you. Furthering your education will help you compete for a job.”
For more information, go to www.capitaladulted.org.
Written by Mike Blount
| Regions | Classes |
|---|---|
| Northern California | High School |
