Ready to Work: News & Views
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Teresa SweeneyTeresa Sweeney is a 34-year-old participant in the Ready-to-Work program. She is a single parent of two children and just recently became a grandmother. Between being a full time mom and grandmother, she is also a full time student at Hopkinsville Community College, Hopkinsville, Kentucky. She is presently working on her Associate of Arts Degree in Business, and will continue on to Murray State to get her Bachelor's Degree in Business Administration.Teresa dropped out of high school at the age of 16 when she learned that she was pregnant. She received her GED in 1989 but never did anything with it. Teresa spent the next severall years working in minimum wage, dead-end jobs that offered very little personal self-worth. Teresa decided to come back to school when her 15-year-old daughter encouraged her to go to college and get her Associate Degree. When she came in for a college orientation, a college counselor gave her information about the Ready-to-work program. She immediately went and met with Joyce Boren who is the Director of the program. After Teresa and Mrs. Boren discussed her career objective and her educational plans, she was placed with work-study in the Admissions Office. She worked in Admissions for 1.5 years and currently is working in the Learning Center on Campus. "I owe the Ready-to-Work program for the opportunity to continue my education and the opportunity to obtain work experience. There is no way that I could go to school full time and work off campus. They allow me to go to school full time, by placing me in a job on campus with offices that work around my class schedule. This is a great opportunity, and I would encourage any individual who is currently receiving K-TAP to take advantage of this program." Read other Ready-to-Work Student Stories |