Shelby Neto – A Success Story

Shelby Neto was referred from the HomeBASE program to the Secure Jobs Program in 2019. Shelby is a young, single parent with two young children and a very limited support system. She started working as a Dietary Aide at a Nursing Home in 2019. However, she always wanted to pursue a career in the medical field where she could help people.  Shelby was a Dietary Aide for about a year.  Due to the pandemic, changes occurred that required her son to be home-schooled and Shelby had no daycare for her baby.  She was now at home full-time making her unable to keep her job.

Shelby and her Secure Jobs Coach worked on a career plan pursuing her interest in the medical field. Due to a lack of childcare, they decided to pursue the option of virtual career training.  Shelby was enrolled with the Ed2go (by Cengage) course to become a Certified Medical Administrative Assistant (CMAA) that was projected to take her 6 months or 160 hours. Shelby was focused and dedicated and completed the course in one month.

The next step was to start working on her national certification exam with National Healthcareer Association (NHA). Again, with her persistence and hard work, Shelby passed the exam and is now a Nationally Certified Medical Administrative Assistant.

The Secure Jobs program was able to support each step of Shelby’s goals by paying for her Medical Administrative Assistant course, NHA exam fee, and other needs such as a laptop, stationery, etc. to ensure her success.  Shelby currently has a 6-month internship at the Brigham and Women’s Pediatric Division working as a Medical Administrative Assistant, gaining on-the-job training and learning new skills.

Next, she and her Secure Jobs coach are working on her resume and refining her interview skills.  Shelby is appreciative of what she has been able to accomplish because of Secure Jobs. Her demeanor and outlook have completely changed and she is more outgoing and confident. Shelby now dreams of owning a home and talks about her future with such positivity.

She shared a personal story with her coach: During dinner this past Thanksgiving with her extended family, her younger cousins all gathered around her to hear of her successes; they now look up to her and want to learn to become Medical Administrative Assistants someday. They asked Shelby to guide them into the medical field just like she was guided by her Secure Jobs team at Community Teamwork.  Shelby is filled with pride and continues to work hard to continue paving the path to self-sufficiency and creating the life she has always wanted for herself and her family.