Advice from a Mom of 3 – Find Your Perfect Program Fit and Land That Dream Job

Embracing a second career at any stage of life can be daunting but for Sheryl, going back to school in the midst of a pandemic and the regulations that meant, to keep everyone healthy, students needed to attend class online, while her three small children vied for her attention, added extra challenges to be overcome. But those three little ones were exactly the incentive Sheryl needed to take her goals from dreams to reality.

We had an amazing opportunity to talk with Sheryl about her experience studying medical office administration (MOA), what it took for her to leap all the hurdles and gain her medical administrative assistant diploma and hear the advice she has for others as they look to take their lives to new levels of success.

“[No matter what, from finding a program that was the right fit for me, to a college that would support and empower me, no matter any challenges I faced], my focus was really always on just finishing my program, graduating.

I wanted to pursue my program because if you’re a mom, you’re not talking about just your future anymore, right? You’re talking about the future of your kids; this is why I’m here.

And I’m sharing my story because I am really proud of being an Anderson College student. For all my success, I look to the role this school played in my experience, because without Anderson College, you know, I don’t really think I would be here celebrating what I’ve accomplished and where our lives are headed as a result.”

Sheryl started out in the Personal Support Worker program but found that it wasn’t exactly the right fit, transitioned into the Medical Office Administration program and began taking medical administration courses. Here she found the perfect path for where she wanted to direct her career. She shared with us that “after about a month in the program, one of the staff at Anderson College contacted me asking if I needed to find a job right away. My response? “Of course I do”! So, every day they helped me scout out clinics or healthcare facilities where I could potentially work. This was really good for me.”

Although the pandemic added the extra challenge of closures and limited job opportunities. Sheryl did not give up. “I trusted myself,” she said. “Within three weeks of finishing my program, one company, a hair transplant medical centre, offered to recruit me and I accepted the opportunity.”

In seeing her success, we wanted to know how she did it and why, out of all the options out there, she chose Anderson College.

“The reason I chose Anderson was because of its reputation for quality teaching. And even beyond the amazing teaching, the instructors are very nice. Even the staff are super helpful. If you need anything, you know that you can connect with them right away. I found this especially when the pandemic started. I remember that everything was switched to virtual learning, which can be hard for students, especially for me as a mom of three kids. It’s difficult to learn when there’s background noise, the kids are yelling or crying. But the work was worth it, the support was there, and the terrific thing is that now I work as a medical office assistant, have a very nice boss and I work in a stress-free environment. I did it!”

At Anderson, we truly care about our students and want to ensure that they not only have the skills and hands-on training to be career ready on graduation day, but we want to give them the best chance possible to land that dream job. We asked Sheryl to share the experience she had with our career services team.

Sheryl had this to say, “From your resume to the cover letter, everything, the career services team helps you a lot. I was searching for job opportunities at the same time as the school was. We would have a conversation every day and they would check in to see if I had received an interview or a call from any of the companies I was applying to. Well, after about a week, this company called me and invited me for an in-person interview. My Anderson team was so proud of me. It was an amazing feeling.”

With all that Sheryl went through, her determination and the results that came of her perseverance, we wanted to know if she had any advice for future MOA students or even parents returning to school.

“My advice is to never give up, whatever your dream is, just pursue it. Skip the ‘trying’ and go for it and look for job opportunities. Especially for parents going back to school, my advice is, don’t think about others right now, only think about when you’re going start your job. Think positively. Know that you are not alone going through these hardships of life. It can be really tough to manage your time, but at the end of the day, it’s all worth it. Just stay focused, especially when you have an exam. I know it can be really hard to nail one, but, let me tell you, if I can do it, you can too! And even if you failed before, you will succeed in the future. You’ve got this.”

“[And I have to add], some students, after graduation, think that the end of the program, that’s it for them. No, we still need to connect with the school [until you’ve found that career opportunity] because of course they will help you 100%.”

When we asked if Sheryl had any final words, she offered this, “I want to say thank you to our instructor for how she helped me in school and in life. We have become dear friends. I want to thank Anderson College, truly, for allowing me to be a part of it all and for being there for me from the start to the end of this program. Your support helped me every single day. I am proud of being an Anderson College student.”

We are deeply moved by Sheryl, her focus and determination, and we are simply thrilled that she has achieved the success she set out to accomplish. We are proud to have her as an Anderson graduate and know that she will continue to enrich the world and inspire her children through her work and ways.
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Still considering if this program could align with your interests and goals, why not take the “Anderson College Medical Professional Career Training Readiness Quiz”?

Or, if you’re ready to launch into your Medical Office Administration career today, book a virtual appointment with our Admissions team to join the next class!