Single mother who received several medical certifications now oversees programs and encourages current students
When Vania Edgerly received her medical assistant certificate from Conejo Valley Adult Education (CVAE) in 2015, she was so proud and so enjoyed her experience in the class that she told the school’s then-medical coordinator that one day she would return to work at the school.
Edgerly has lived up to that promise: She now serves as CVAE’s Career and Technical Education (CTE) Medical Coordinator, assisting and sharing her own story with students currently enrolled in the same courses she once was.
“You just have to give yourself that chance,” Edgerly says. “I do let them know if I can do it, anybody can do it. I tell them my story and I say, ‘Hey, I started as a student and I’m back here and I’m working as a coordinator, which I never imagined when I first started these classes.’”
“They start with no knowledge of the medical field. By the time they graduate, they are confident in their skills. They’re confident in their ability to recall information. They’re confident in the education that they received. They go out and they just take on the world.”
Vania Edgerly, Career and Technical Education Medical Coordinator, Conejo Valley Adult Education
It wasn’t an easy journey. Edgerly says she took a chance on herself when she moved to California with her daughter. The single mother initially enrolled in CVAE’s program to obtain the certification necessary to work as a medical assistant, and says she liked the program so much she began to enroll in other courses, including medical billing and coding, EKG and phlebotomy technician courses, for which she’s also earned certifications.
Edgerly loved how the programs were set up and the respect instructors showed each other, she says, adding that she thought it would be the perfect place to work. After graduation, she began working at an orthopedic office. After working there for a year, she was contacted to work at CVAE.
As medical coordinator, Edgerly oversees courses within the medical department and has an array of duties which include hiring instructors and ensuring the curriculum is up to date.
Edgerly provides information on the programs to any who are interested in enrolling, she says, including informing them about the costs of tuition and required supplies and materials like scrubs, textbooks, and registering for an online simulation system.
She also gives encouragement to anybody hesitant to enroll in CTE programs.
“I’m meeting with them and letting them know, ‘You’ve got to bet on yourself,’” Edgerly says. “No one else is going to bet on you unless you do it. If you can’t take care of yourself, no one else is going to. I build them up and say, ‘You can do this.’”
Edgerly says the most rewarding part of her work is doing something good for the community by providing knowledge to students.
“They start with no knowledge of the medical field. By the time they graduate, they are confident in their skills,” Edgerly says. “They’re confident in their ability to recall information. They’re confident in the education that they received. They go out and they just take on the world. I love to see people going from having no knowledge to having all of this knowledge and knowing that I had a hand in helping them better themselves.”
Edgerly’s goals for the department’s future include creating additional medical courses and increasing enrollment each year.
“I think that what I want to do is work with the community and offer something other than college. It’s fulfilling keeping the programs running as they have been, and keeping my instructors happy,” she says.
For more information on how Conejo Valley Adult Education can help you achieve your education and career goals, go to conejoadulted.org. For more information about other schools and programs that are part of the Ventura County Adult Education Consortium, go to vcaec.org.
Written by Justine Chahal
| Regions | Classes & Topics |
|---|---|
| South Coast California | Careers in Health Care |
