As an outsider, breaking into an industry can often seem like an impossible challenge and so we reached out to some very generous folks who agreed to share their stories of how they broke into their respective industries.

Stephanneth Adams

Landing my first position as a Women’s Health Nurse Practitioner was a journey. In 2012 there were not many opportunities for NPs in the field of OB-GYN. Job opportunities were limited to MD or DOs. It was an arduous journey to find a clinic seeking a specialized NP, who in addition did not have clinical experience outside of university training. As a result, I found myself in my 20s having to muster the fortitude to start my first position wherever the door opened. I worked as a Float Pool RN after NP school focusing on Med-Surg & Labor-Delivery. It was almost a year post-graduation that the first opportunity opened. I had to move several states over to gain experience. The area was in rural Pennsylvania. I knew that there was a reasoning behind the move, so I did not hesitate to join the clinic. Shortly thereafter the clinical began to have financial struggles & I knew it was best to search for the next opportunity before the office I functioned out of was also shutdown. The company was on the verge of closing offices due to lost state and federal fundings. Read more>>

Tamika Baker

Well one of the biggest risk I took in my life was moving to Houston, TX without a job and without any family. About 13 years ago, I was at the point in my life where I felt I needed a change because I was feeling stuck and was feeling like I was settling. I had worked for the postal services for over 17 years, not because I wanted to but because I had to. I graduated high school at 18 and had two children before I was even 21 years old, so I took the job at the postal services for stability and security for myself and my sons. After 15 years of working at the postal service, three sons later, the loss of a son in a miscarriage, and a job position downsizing I decided to go back to school to become a medical assistant. After I finished the medical assistant program I entered the cardio sonography program, that is where I really started considering if I wanted to start a career in the medical field I needed to move to where the medical field is flourishing. In 2012, after two years of technology college, I moved to Houston. I left my postal service career, my three sons with their fathers, and everything I ever known in Georgia. My career in the medical field did flourish, I went from being a medical assistant to being a certified medical coder. At first it was hard but I stuck with it and showed my sons that you should never be afraid to step out of your comfort zone or take a risk. I am glad I took the risk to change my career because I would have always wondered and regretted not taking that chance. Read more>>

Yolanda Berkowitz

Back in 2016, I kept seeing heartbreaking stories on social media—dogs and cats at our county shelter hit by cars, abandoned, or rescued from cruelty cases. I couldn’t believe my community was turning a blind eye. With a background in child advocacy, I thought, maybe I can do the same for our shelter pets. Read more>>