How a student forged a rewarding new career path—inspired by and inspiring his adult kids
At 55, Eddie Egurrola embarked on a new career. It was something completely different from the jobs he’d been working for the past several decades, one that not only gives him security, but the satisfaction of helping others.
At the age of 16, he dropped out of high school to support himself. Soon, he was working to support his young family as well. He worked hard, albeit paycheck-to-paycheck.
“No matter how good you are at sales and commission, you never know what next week’s check is going to be like,” he remembers. “I worked my way up the chain, but I got as far as I could go…because I didn’t have a GED or high school diploma.”
“Not everybody gets the privilege of working somewhere they love.”
Eddie Egurrola, Certified pharmacy technician and graduate of Charles A. Jones Career and Education Center
Today, Egurrola—a graduate of the Charles A. Jones Career and Education Center—is a certified pharmacy technician working at Sutter Medical Center.
“Within 18 months, I went from getting my GED to finishing school and actually starting at Sutter,” he says. “I’m really proud of myself for that. I wish I would have done it sooner.”
He was inspired by his daughter, Saraya, the first in the family to pursue a career as a pharmacy technician. His son, Kameron, is following his sister and father into the same field.
“All I would hear her say was how much she loved her job. It got me thinking that maybe I want a piece of that,” he says. “I just want to be able to enjoy my job, because honestly not everybody gets the privilege of working somewhere they love.”
Initially, Egurrola says he was a little intimidated going back to school, but the support he got from both faculty and his fellow students quickly put his worries to rest. And that support didn’t end once he graduated: The program helped place him in an externship where he acquired hands-on experience and connections that got him hired afterward.
“It’s not the easiest course for somebody my age, but there’s so much help there, there are so many people you can lean on who can help you get through it,” he says. “There’s an honest feel of them caring about your career.”
Ultimately, Egurrola says the best part of his new career is knowing he’s doing something that matters.
“At work, there’s nothing more satisfying than compounding something and then taking it to the NICU unit, delivering it to the baby it’s going to and seeing that baby eventually check out,” he says. “You know that in a small part you were a part of them getting better.”
For more information on the Charles A. Jones Career and Education Center, visit caj.scusd.edu or call 916-395-5800.
Written by Anne Stokes
| Regions | Classes |
|---|---|
| Northern California | Careers in Health Care – High School |
