Category: Non-Clinical Healthcare

Like many of our nation’s restaurant industry workers, Citlali Cruz was feeling vulnerable and frustrated during the COVID-19 pandemic. He had dedicated years of his life to restaurants and suddenly his was closed, open, then closed again.    “In Los Angeles, people weren’t taking the virus seriously,” explains Citlali. “I wanted to do something where I was helping people who…

Angelina Avina was a stay-at-home mother to her three children for several years but found herself looking for opportunities that would allow her to support her family and open the possibility of one day buying her kids a house. However, after several years out of the workforce, she was not getting hired. Having worked at…

Brianna Wilburn did everything she was told to do. She earned a master’s degree in economics. She worked hard, and yet, back home in Lancaster, she found herself rotating through nearly every retail job in the city.  “Any place I’d go by on the freeway, I can say I work there, I work there, I work there,” she remembers. “Anywhere…

Scarlett Medina was working a warehouse job and searching for something more meaningful. She knew she wanted a career connected to healthcare, one where she could grow professionally and make a real difference, but she wasn’t sure how to get there.   “I wanted to pursue a career more in medical, maybe billing,” Scarlett shares. “I just didn’t know where…

When Rita Elder was laid off after years of dedicated work in human resources for large entertainment companies, the experience was both shocking and deeply disappointing. Like many professionals impacted by corporate mergers and layoffs, Rita suddenly found herself questioning what came next and how to rebuild after losing a role she had invested so much of…

Growing up in San Francisco and West Los Angeles for most of his life, Michael Mikael always thought of himself as an artist.  “I enjoyed doing more creative stuff…more artistic endeavors,” he says. This carried on to his college life, when he went to Loyola Marymount University to study fine arts and communication.  After graduation, he worked as a a freelance graphic designer for 10 years, creating logos, posters and websites for…

When Tyler Bonilla signed up for JVS SoCal’s MediWork$ (formerly called CareerWork$ Medical) , he left behind a job as a concierge in a luxury hotel in Los Angeles. Previously, he was a flight attendant for seven years.  “I’m transitioning into healthcare for long-term career growth,” says Tyler who didn’t see advancement in either job. “I’d…

Jessica Curiel’s persistence has helped her achieve many of her goals.  A graduate of our MediWork$ (CareerWork Medical) program, Jessica commuted daily from the Antelope Valley to Los Angeles to take the eight-week course that prepares students with the fundamental knowledge to work in administrative roles in the healthcare industry.  “I feel that when you…

Earlier in her career of many years in film editing, Laura Behary was part of large crews that cut and spliced film in darkrooms. Laura took some time away from the workforce to raise her young children in the early 2000s, one of whom has special needs. When she wanted to get back into the…