Alyssa joined Guilford Child Development’s Family Success Center in the summer of 2019. The high school graduate and mother of one expressed an interest in career development, but after talking with Melissa Tearry, her Family Success Center Career Coach, it was determined that Alyssa needed more.
“I realized that she was underemployed,” Melissa said. “Where she was working was not going to help her become self-sufficient or even sustain her and her daughter.”
Fortunately, Alyssa’s decision to join the FSC couldn’t have come at a better time. Her entry into the program came right when General Dynamics, a Greensboro based company that engineers and manufactures technology used for undersea and optical systems, was seeking employees.
Facing a very tight time window, Alyssa and her coach went to work in preparation to apply for the opening. Alyssa was tasked with creating a resume, while Melissa worked with her on interviewing skills and pulled together other FSC staff to conduct mock interviews.
“Everyone was so helpful from day one,” Alyssa said. “I was able to get help with my resume, what to wear, and my interview skills in about two to three weeks.”
Alyssa’s preparation and the support of her FSC family paid off. She was hired by General Dynamics as a manufacturing assembler.
“I’m really thankful for Guilford Child Development and the Family Success Center,” she said.
Alyssa continues to thrive and appears to be making good on her plans to give her daughter a great life. Since landing her new job, she has paid off her car and purchased her first home. Her success is something that her coach still reflects on with excitement saying, “The job and the skills that helped her get the job have opened up all these doors for her to get what she wanted, and I celebrated that!”