Solmarie Fontanez Rivera
Age: 26
Hometown: Puerto Rico
Region: Philadelphia
Center: Blue Ridge
Dates enrolled: 9/9/2014 – 7/3/2017
Training: Clinical Medical Assistant, Licensed Practical Nurse

Solmarie Fontanez Rivera I was born in Puerto Rico. At the age of seven, moved to Florida with her parents and siblings. In middle school, Solmarie had some military recruiters come to her school, and decided then that her plan was to join the military after high school. She later joined the ROTC, but due to an injury, she was disqualified from the program. “I barely graduated high school with a 2.1 GPA,” she explained.” Her father had his GED and my mother finished high school, but neither attended college, so Solmarie did not know how to go about furthering her education once she’d graduated.
“Fortunately, I heard about Blue Ridge Job Corps,” Solmarie remembered. “It really stood out to me because it was all medical.” She had taken a medical 101 class in high school and really enjoyed it, so that was another positive for BRJC.
During her time at Blue Ridge Job Corps, Solmarie earned her clinical medical assistant certification, but she did not stop there. She decided go even further my enrolling in the Advanced Training Licensed Practical Nursing program. She completed that goal over a span of two years, graduating from the program in May 2017. Solmarie also earned her driver’s license at BRJC.
She was also involved in many extracurricular activities, acting as a tutor, recreation aide, and serving as a member of the Student Government Association. She also volunteered often at local nursing homes and food pantries.
After completing her training at Blue Ridge Job Corps, Solmarie moved back to Orlando, with my fiancé at the time, now her wife. “We rented for about a year,” she stated, “and then bought our own home, where I now have my two dogs, a cat and chickens. She works full-time at Aveanna Healthcare, which services disabled children, and she specializes in trach and vent patients.
Solmarie hopes to move to Europe within the next five years and continue her education there. She would like to specialize in pediatric orthopedics and mobility devices.
“Some advice I’d give to current students at Blue Ridge is to remember why you’re there. It’s really a short term sacrifice for essentially a whole new chance at life. Some of us were dealt a bad hand but this is really the place to go ahead and turn that all around. You’re capable of more than you know.”
Solmarie also remembered former Blue Ridge Job Corps staff member William A. Fields. “Mr. Fields said something to me that really changed my perspective. He said to me that nobody at the center knew who I was before I walked through those doors, so essentially I could completely reimagine myself.” In that moment she decided she was going to be “the good student.” She stated that she wanted to be the person who was dedicated to their studies and inspired the people around me to do the same.
It’s safe to say that she became not only a good student, but a great one, and she helped and inspired many around her during her time at Blue Ridge Job Corps.