JumpStart

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International Students Begin Nursing Career Path Through JumpStart

MEET FATOU & JENIFFER

Written by Erica Witsell, ELA Instructor, JumpStart Advisor Rebecca Loli, Director, Transitional Studies

A-B Tech Transitional Studies students Fatou Cisse Gaye and Jeniffer Castelu Pereira completed the Nurse Aide 1 course this spring through JumpStart, a program that waives tuition for students who are pursuing a postsecondary workforce credential while simultaneously studying for a high school equivalency diploma. Recent immigrants to the United States, both women began their A-B Tech journey in Transitional Studies’ English Language Acquisition (ELA) Program, improving their communication skills and learning more about local workforce opportunities. Since Fatou Cisse Gaye immigrated to Asheville from Senegal in November 2018, she has developed the skills, the plan, and the support needed to build a nursing career. She applied to the JumpStart Program in Transitional Studies so she could continue her high school equivalency studies while also getting advising and support for her chosen career-path credential. She is looking forward to joining the Asheville workforce as a nurse aide to gain experience in the healthcare field. She plans to apply to A-B Tech’s nursing program next year. Her favorite part of her nurse aide course was seeing her patients smile while she was doing her clinicals at Givens Estates this spring. Also graduating from the Nurse Aide 1 course this spring is Jeniffer Castelu Pereira, a trilingual student from Brazil. Jeniffer worked as a pediatric doctor in Bolivia and Peru before coming to the United States in 2019. She decided to pursue her Nurse Aide certification through the JumpStart program in order to explore different career options in healthcare and to familiarize herself with the U.S. medical system. Jeniffer is currently working at Mission Hospital in the Heart Tower and plans to enroll in A-B Tech’s nursing program this fall.

For more information about Transitional Studies, English Language Acquisition, High School Equivalency Preparation, or JumpStart, visit www.abtech.edu/adult-education.