Merced County Office of Education

December 10, 2015 Volume 12

ROP Adult Newsletter Inside this issue:

Accounting/COT 1

Computerized Office Technology 2

COT/Medical Assisting 3

HSA Health Fair 4

Computerized Office Technology: Beth Smith

After working for Mercy Medical Center for fifteen years, Becky Albright had

some personal battles to deal with and found herself unemployed. She began her journey to getting her life back on track. Becky was placed through H.S.A at Love, Inc. as a volunteer office assistant; it was there that she really saw how many good people there are in the world. Becky thrived in that office and began to see her life in a more positive way. During that time, however, she and her family found themselves homeless. Becky and her family were glad to move in with a dear friend. Last year Becky got involved in Love Plus, a mentoring program which helps people put their lives back on track. This past fall, Becky gave back what she received and is now mentoring women who are is situations similar to Becky’s. Becky began the ROP Adult Computerized Office Technology Program in May of 2015. She was referred to the class by Eunice Gomez. From the very beginning, Beth Smith saw

Elvira Vargas started the ROP Adult Accounting Program in July of 2014; she was referred by Jenny Bagri. This single mom of four children wanted a better life for her and her children. Elvira did an excellent job in class and was always ready to work each and every day. Beth placed Elvira at Legal Support Net as her internship worksite. Since Elvira was bilingual Spanish, she was a perfect match for this office, whose clientele is primarily Spanish speakers. Elvira was told from the

beginning that she was going to be hired. But as the weeks went by, this did not happen. It was getting near the holidays and things were not looking good.

After the Christmas break, Elvira came back to class wanting to tie up some loose ends in the class. An opportunity came for her to qualify for Subsidized Employment. Beth found her a worksite at Golden Valley Health Center in the billing department. Elvira began that site on February 2, 2015. Elvira quickly learned the programs and her supervisor loved her. Elvira stayed in the Subsidized Employment Program until the end, which was May 31, 2015. Elvira’s supervisor, Belia Linan encouraged her to apply for an open position in the billing department. Elvira graduated from the Accounting Program in June of 2015.

Finally a couple of weeks after graduation, the call came that Elvira had been waiting for. She was offered a full

time position at Golden Valley Health Center in their billing department. By September 1, 2015, Elvira was officially off cash aide, since she was over income! This beautiful young single mom of four now has the life she and her family deserve!

Beth saw Elvira recently and she looked so happy. When asked how she felt about her new job, she responded by saying, “I love it!” She has even been able to work overtime; just in time to earn some money for the holi-days.

Accounting: Beth Smith

how intelligent and hardworking Becky was. Her attendance was near perfect and she came to class each and every day with a smile and a determination to succeed. She went through the coursework with ease. Becky practiced and tested for the Microsoft Office Specialist test becoming certified in Outlook, Word, PowerPoint and Expert Word! Quite an accomplishment!

In September of 2015, Beth Smith and Becky began to talk about her being placed at a worksite. Beth had an e-mail request from Image Masters for a student to work as an intern in their office. Beth knew that Becky would be a perfect fit for this office. On October 5, 2015, Becky began working as an intern at Image Masters. It didn’t take long before she became an important part of the team. Becky’s official hire date was November 13, 2015. With the help of Amelia Cuen; Image Masters was able to hire Becky through the Subsidized Employment Program. Becky’s new

title is Director of First Impressions. Image Masters and Becky are both looking forward to a long, long relationship.

For Becky, her husband, three children and three fur babies, the next step in their journey is to find a place they can call their own home. Now that Becky is employed, that should make things a little easier. Becky and her family have qualified for the Homeless Assistance program through H.S.A. They are trying hard to find a place. When Becky’s new boss, Tim O’Neil was told that a success story was being written about her, he said, “She is already a success. Thank you for sending us only the best!”

...Becky Albright (continued)

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ROP Adult Newsletter

She took her bookwork very seriously and accomplished all that she set out to do. Savannah became certified in Word through the Microsoft Office Specialist program. When the time came for Savannah to get ready for a worksite, Beth assisted Savannah in sending out cover letters and resumes, but for some reason nothing seemed to come of it. It wasn’t for Savannah’s lack of skills, but timing wasn’t right for taking an intern at this time. Beth continued to look. Savannah came to class one day and said she had met with Armando Diaz from Soldavi Reality. One of her friends knew him and told her he might be interested in taking a student intern. Beth met with Armando and knew that would be the perfect place for Savannah. After getting the paperwork done, Savannah started her internship at Soldavi in July of 2015. After her internship was over in September, Savannah became an employee through the Subsidized Employment Program. Amelia Cuen helped make this possible. When asked a few months later how she likes her job Savannah said, “I love it!” The future looks pretty bright for this young woman and the three children she is raising. Last month, H.S.A. was contacted to modify their Subsidized Employment contract. Since Savannah has been taking on more and more duties and becoming increasingly valuable to Soldovi, she received a hefty raise increase of $4.50 per hour!

Computerized

Office Technology

Beth Smith

Savannah Lopez began the ROP Adult Comput-erized Office Technology Program in January of 2015. She was referred by Allissa Moreno. Savannah was looking for a way to learn office skills which would help this young single mother in supporting her family. Savannah is not only raising a three year old boy, but has taken on the additional responsibility of raising her niece and nephew. Savannah worked hard in class in order to succeed.

Beatriz Ibarra Beatriz started the ROP Adult Medical Assisting class in Los Banos on 9-15-15 through HSA. Beatriz showed her enthusiasm and interest in the program from the beginning. She had a lot of computer background from her previous job. Beatriz showed her ability to handle a position in a medical office and was quick to learn the skills needed. She proved to be hardworking, focused and very helpful to other students around her who would ask her for guidance through difficult areas. Beatriz completed her internship at Family Medical Health Center in Los Banos. At the completion of her training the staff was very pleased with her job performance and offered her a full time position at Family Medical Heath Center as a back office Medical Assistant at $9.00 and hour.

Medical Assisting: Marie Guintini

Carol Roberts was referred by the Workforce Investment Agency. She was enrolled in the Computerized Office Technology program, and completed on September 11, 2015. Carol worked hard to complete all required assignments on time, and she was Microsoft Certified in Word 2010. She used her new skills to apply for and obtain employment with the Merced County Child Support Division. She thanks MCOE for the opportunity to be part of a great program.

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Volume 12

Dalia Gonzalez was referred to the Computerized Office Technology Course by CalWORKs, and completed on October 16, 2015. She enjoyed working with and completing the Microsoft Word and Excel 2010 applications. Dalia said, “Completing the computer assessments was great; because you take what you learned and create documents and spreadsheets on your own. They give you the skills you need to use at work.” Dalia also worked on completing her Employment Portfolio, and now that she has completed the course, she plans to take everything she learned and use it in finding employment in an office environment.

Lisa Nieto was referred to the Computerized Office Technology Course by the Workforce Investment Agency, and completed on November 20, 2015. Lisa said she appreciated all the help she received from her instructor, Teresa Machado, whom she says gave her good advice. She liked working with computer applications, and became Microsoft Certified in Word 2010. Lisa made good friends, and appreciated the encouragement from her fellow classmates. Overall, she fully enjoyed the class, and is looking forward to applying her newly gained skills to her successful future.

Computerized Office Technology: Teresa Machado

Merced County Office of Education

Merced County Office of Education

On 10/3/15, The Adult Medical Assisting Program participated for the third time in the Human Service Agencies Annual Employee Health Fair. Thomas Adame (HSA) and Dawn Wold performed glucose checks, while Areli Sarabia performed blood pressure checks. The HSA Health Fair is one of the busiest events we work each year, and altogether the MCOE booth saw roughly 120 patients this year. All three students were kept busy providing services, and patient education.

Also attending was Owens Chiropractic, a site that is contracted with the medical assisting program. Dr. Owens brought both interns with him to work his booth. Deborah Corral (HSA) assisted with insurance forms and bilingual interpretation, while Marty Thomas (HSA) demonstrated seated massage techniques.

Human Services Agency Health Fair