At 33, Jacksonville resident Justin Otis is now completing his doctorate degree in anesthesiology at the University of North Florida (UNF) and is now in Kentucky completing his residency at a hospital near Louisville – and says he wouldn’t be where he is today without the help and guidance he received from CareerSource Northeast Florida.
He was connected with the organization in 2010, which offered him an opportunity as a single young man who “really didn’t know what to do with his life.”
“After I graduated from Fletcher High in 2007, I went away to college, failed out of Florida International University, and was on academic probation,” he said. So, for me to get a new opportunity through CareerSource NEFL and a second chance to go back to school was a huge thing. I was working my way back from academic probation when the opportunity came to get into a nursing program.”
When Otis was accepted to the Florida State College at Jacksonville (FSCJ) in 2010, he admitted he had no idea of how he would pay for it.
“It just created an entirely new set of problems that I really didn’t know how to navigate,” he said. “I didn’t have a family that could help me pay for classes and I had to work. I provided for myself and lived in a small apartment then.”
Otis said he was fortunate that another student said he should contact a place called ‘WorkSource.’ He made the call, applied for financial assistance through the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA), and partnered with a case manager, Kimberly Thomas.
“That really provided a way for me to move up because, outside of attending school, there was no other way for me to get out of the hole that I was in,” Otis said. “Kimberly really ran me through what was going to be required and stayed in touch with me throughout the whole experience. It was just nice to have someone to help me make it through to graduation.”
Otis graduated with an associate degree in nursing in 2012 and later received his bachelor’s degree from FSCJ. From there, he worked as a nurse at Orange Park Medical Center for six years, followed by a four-year stint at Mayo Clinic.
In January 2021, he decided to further his career and started taking classes at UNF to earn a Doctor of Nursing Practice degree in Anesthesiology Nursing—which he’s on track to receive this December. This will position him to become a Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist (CRNA). CRNAs provide anesthesia across the U.S. in hospitals, outpatient surgery centers, dental offices, and anywhere else anesthesia is provided.
“I remember Mr. Otis as a hardworking young man when we met years ago,” said Thomas, a senior workforce services representative who today provides services from the FSCJ’s Deerwood Campus. I congratulate him on his achievements, but I’m surprised at his success.”
In addition to receiving his degree, Otis is serving as president of the Florida Association of Student Nurse Anesthetists and is also a non-voting member of the board of directors at the Florida Association of Nurse Anesthesiology.
While Otis is paying for this new degree with savings, scholarships and other financial aid, he says he wouldn’t be in the “great situation” he’s in today if it had not been for the help he received from CareerSource NEFL years ago.”
“I can say that I’ve never worked with a program that had people who literally just wanted me to succeed and work and become a productive member of society,” he said. “At the time, it looked like I was going to work the rest of my life in the service industry unless I took out a huge loan or attended a trade school or something like that. But CareerSource NEFL really provided the way for me to become a nurse, and all that I have today started with someone believing that I could actually be better.”