Elijah McGuire found WMCAT shortly after he was displaced by Hurricane Harvey. With family spread across the country, Elijah landed in Grand Rapids working a factory job that left him feeling burnt out.
Elijah’s aunt, Margaret – a 2016 graduate of WMCAT‘s Adult Career Training Program – suggested he consider pursuing the same opportunity. Motivated to learn and grow, he enrolled at WMCAT in fall 2021.
Elijah and Cindy Goodyke, WMCAT pharmacy technician instructor.
Pharmacy technician students put their skills to the test during the Adult Career Training Program’s mock clinic.
Now, a year after he began his journey to a new career, Elijah is employed as a pharmacy technician at Spectrum Health. It took hard work to get to this point but he welcomed the challenge, learning the science and math behind filling prescriptions, pharmacy software, and customer support to prepare for certification and ultimately a new job.
Elijah described the program as “one of the best things I’ve done in my life … it brought me back to who I was supposed to be.”
He loves his job and coworkers, feels challenged, and says he is “always learning.” He plans to study pharmacy at the college level in the coming years to continue growing in his career.
“[This program] will not only benefit you in a career way, but emotionally and intellectually. You’ll want more for yourself.”
Elijah graduates with a job lined up at Spectrum Health.
In a voicemail message to WMCAT President + CEO Jamon Alexander on the day of Elijah’s graduation, Elijah’s Aunt Margaret said, “I just want to thank you and your organization for being there for my nephew and providing him this awesome opportunity.”
NEW CAREER TRAINING PATHWAY IN TECH
WMCAT is scaling the impact of new careers with the launch of a Cybersecurity + GRC (Governance, Risk, and Compliance) pathway to provide Kent County adults experiencing under or unemployment the opportunity for thriving-wage careers in a growing field. This expansion of WMCAT’s Adult Career Training Program will help to diversify the tech talent pipeline and move more families in our community to sustained economic security.
Learn more at work.wmcat.org/grc.
