Madison applied to become a Virginia Ready Scholar in 2021 when she decided to take charge of her career path by focusing on earning her Certified Nurse Assistant (CNA) Credential at Piedmont Community College. This credential was the perfect stepping stone to jump start her career in nursing.

After completing her course, Madison began her career journey at Johnston Willis Hospital. She started as a CNA and after a little over a year later, began working as a Patient Care Technician.

“I honestly believe that taking the CNA class with the help of Virginia Ready helped me get my first job as a CNA at a hospital”, said Madison. When asked how Virginia Ready helped support her she wrote “[they helped with] updating my resume to submit my job applications. [They gave me a digital Virginia Ready badge] that I got to attach to my resume which made it look really nice and I [was able to] talk about Virginia Ready at my interview”.

Two years later, Madison has completed nursing school and upon graduation has accepted an RN position in the NICU at Johnston Willis Hospital. Madison states, "I just wanted to thank Virginia Ready again, because I think already working as a CNA in that hospital helped me to land my dream job."

Virginia Ready offers career readiness resources and workshops that help Scholars become job ready. Additionally, after completing their course and earning their Credential, Virginia Ready provides a $1,000 Credential Achievement Award.

The Credential Achievement Award is often used for either living expenses or additional training opportunities. In Madison’s case, she used it for transportation. Madison said, “I am forever grateful for the $1,000 Achievement Award because I was able to use some of that money to fix my car”. And that fix ended up enabling her to travel to work and nursing school at Piedmont Community College where she is still taking courses to support her career goals.

Virginia Ready’s mission is to support career-minded individuals like Madison and help them earn the skills they need that will lead them to family-sustaining careers!