Deziree Lawson is now in the nursing career she had always wished for, thanks to the support she received from CareerSource Northeast Florida.
Lawson, who had received a business degree from St. Johns River State College in 2016, decided to follow her dream to become a nurse in 2020 during the COVID Pandemic – but needed some financial help to make it happen.
“I was trying to go back to nursing school, but since I already had an undergraduate degree, I couldn’t apply for financial assistance,” she said. “I knew I would have to pay out of pocket and couldn’t afford to do that…but that was until I found out about the resources available at CareerSource NEFL.”
She ended up speaking with Tammie Jackson, a Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) Case Manager with the organization, who helped Lawson apply for financial assistance toward the end of 2020. By 2021, she was attending First Coast Technical College in St. Augustine on her way to receiving a Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN) certification.
“It was an excellent program,” she said. “I learned a lot, and Miss Jackson helped me along the way to keep me updated on my attendance and my paperwork together to continue to qualify for their resources.”
Lawson recently finished the program in March 2022 and is now working in her field, receiving a job as a nurse at a local county jail in June.
She says contacting CareerSource NEFL was “the best move” she ever made.
“You can go to college and still can’t get your niche right and find your right place in society,” Lawson said. “When I decided to become a nurse, I just couldn’t afford to go back to school, but CareerSource Northeast Florida put me into a position to achieve a goal and work in that field. The help they gave me along the way, being there to answer questions or guide me to the right person to help me, was incredible. I’m thankful for everything they did to help me along the way.”