“Monique Pagaduan is now on her way to a bright and successful future, all due to her own strength, belief in God, and the help and support that she received from the “family here at Job Corps,” says Hawaii Job Corps Academic Manager Cynthia Hoddick.

Monique is a 24-year-old mother of two children, a 7-year-old and a 13-month-old infant. She fought through and overcame serious challenges throughout her life including homelessness.

She heard about Job Corps through family members who had previously attended the program. Monique had her high school diploma, but she didn’t have the skills to get a good job that would support her family, so she enrolled in Hawaii’s health occupations program and earned the certified nursing assistant certification.

And it gets better! Monique just began her college career while still enrolled at the Hawaii Job Corps Center. She’s taking classes at Kapiolani Community College and is pursuing an associate science degree in nursing. Her career goals are to become a registered nurse and practice as a midwife.

“The Job Corps program helped me succeed in ways that I would have never been able to achieve on my own. Staff made me realize my potential,” says Monique.

The center’s knowledgable and caring staff along with incredible services have made all the difference for this mother.

“The child care center at Job Corps allowed me to have quality child care while I studied—that is a huge benefit of the program,” adds Monique.