Jackson Community College
Alumni Relations Alumni ProfilesSandra Oleksiak
Sandra Oleksiak of Brooklyn wasn’t quite sure what to do when she learned that her job at TRW in Jackson would soon disappear because it was being transferred to Mexico. She thought about going to a previous job, but that felt like a step backward to her. While she went so far as to speak with those at her old job about coming back after unemployment, she instead decided to take a new direction when offered to go back to school for retraining. She enrolled at JCC in the medical assistant program. “The union called me and told me that it would be in my best interest to consider the retraining program. That meant going back to school and learning something totally different,” Oleksiak said. Reading the newspaper for jobs that were available, and understanding the schooling available to put her into another career in two years, led her to medical assisting. Her family and friends also helped and supported her. “My decision was based on the location of the school and the different programs they had to offer.” Oleksiak said she found the program interesting, and she learned quite a bit. Having the support of faculty like Assistant Professor Jean Dennerll, who heads the medical assistant program, and Marian Burlingham, director of JCC’s Center for Student Success which offers tutoring and a variety of special services to help students succeed, made a big difference. She finished the program in December 2005 and graduated in January 2006. She also passed her certification exam in January to become a state certified medical assistant. Today, she is a floating medical assistant at the University of Michigan Hospital. She has learned a lot as a floater in the many different areas and clinics, having worked in endocrinology, allergy, cardiac, nephrology, rheumatology, infectious disease, diabetes and numerous others. She advises others who find themselves out of work and unsure what to do to never give up. “You are never too old to learn something different. You can grow from the learning, and you definitely feel better about yourself when you do. You also have a strong sense of accomplishment when you actually succeed.” |