Sunshine Through Those Rainy Days
Mt. Clemens Career Center
Submitted by Dana Keller
KeyShonna, the mother of three boys, says she chose to share her career journey because it wasn’t easy, but she met her goal by beating every obstacle she encountered. In a letter to her career planner, KeyShonna says she began her medical journey as a caregiver at different facilities in metro Detroit. She feels the loss of her mom due to long-term health issues influenced her to look beyond caregiving as she envisioned becoming a nurse. KeyShonna stated she then “connected with a wonderful career advisor, Dana Keller, who still checks on me to this day.” Eligible for tuition assistance through the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA), KeyShonna began Practical Nurse training at Dorsey in 2019.
Today, KeyShonna is working as an LPN earning $27.00 per hour, but she says her journey was not as easy as it looks. Starting school following a job loss while grieving the death of her mother and while pregnant, she had limited finances. KeyShonna advises that the lesson she learned was to never give up even though the easiest thing for anyone to do is to stop. Stating that she initially felt like a failure, KeyShonna persevered through multiple attempts to pass the nursing license exam. She says she didn’t lose faith and kept going until she saw her name on that license. A final thought in her letter, she believes, “There’s always sunshine through those rainy days and it’s up to you to determine your next move. This story was just a quick reminder to anyone that’s going through similar situations, you will be successful, you will make it, and you will be the one sharing your success journey real soon to others in the same situation. Best wishes to everyone and to Dana. Thank you for all you’ve done for me and others.”
