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Success Stories

Yuridia Fernandez and Sara Fernandez

Yuridia Fernandez and Sara Fernandez were both enrolled into the EMPOWER Program in May 2004. They both decided to attend the Medical Assistant Program offered through the Merced College Extension on Ashby Road. At that time, there was a waiting list for the Medical Assisting Program, and the girls had to wait until August to start the class. While they waited, both Sara and Yuridia completed the Employability Workshop and participated in The EMPOWER Zone. At The EMPOWER Zone, where the participants have a chance to present their employment portfolios to community members, both girls scored high on all the rubrics.

When both the girls started the Medical Assisting Program in August, they were faced with several barriers. The girls overcame the barriers that they were faced with and continued to move forward towards their goal of becoming Medical Assistants. Yuridia was the first to complete the class. She completed the class hours and her externship in June 2005. Sara fell behind in the class, and did not complete her class hours and externship until July 2005.

Yuridia was the first to successfully obtain full-time employment with Mercy Urgent Care where she started on July 2005. Sara followed right behind her sister by gaining full-time employment with Dr. Munnangi in August 2005. I recently spoke with Sara and Yuridia and they are both very happy at their places of employment. Yuridia has a busy schedule, working full-time and being a single parent of two young boys. Sara is busy as well, working full-time and looking forward to continuing her education.