After working several dead-end jobs, Elizabeth Beachy said that she began to feel down on her luck because this cycle seemed to keep repeating itself. She wanted to launch her career, but wasn’t sure about what she wanted to do. Ms. Beachy had a cousin that had attended the Jacobs Creek Job Corps Center, so her mother recommended that she en-roll in Job Corps too. Ms. Beachy came to the Blue Ridge Job Corps “Village” from Norfolk, Virginia.
During her enrollment at Blue Ridge, Ms. Beachy earned her Certified Clinical Medical Assistant (CCMA), Electrocardiogram (EKG) Technician, Phlebotomy Certification, Certified Medical Administrative Assistant (CMAA), and Electronic Health Record credentials. She also received the Gold Level on the National Career Readiness Certifi-cate ACT WorkKeys Assessment, Gold Level for the Presidential Volunteer Service Award and her Driver’s License. Additionally, Ms. Beachy served as the Student Gov-ernment Association President & Treasurer, a Safety Cadet and Dorm Aide. She sat on the Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) and Behavior Management Center Review boards. Not only was Ms. Beachy a natural Born Leader, but she believed in giving back to the community as well. She volunteered countless hours to Feeding America, Atkins Food Pantry, Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW), and assisted with National Youth Service Day, Town of Marion Beautification Project and many other events.
Her most treasured memory was on her last day as she realized that everyone was a family to her and soon they would all go in separate directions. After completing Blue Ridge Job Corps on May 1, 2016, she began working at Eastern Virginia Medical School’s Maternal Fetal Medicine Department, as a Medical Assistant making $13.65 an hour. After landing a promising job, Ms. Beachy purchased a car and enrolled at John Tyler Community College taking courses in Medical Sonography. In a year and a half, she plans to transfer to Old Dominion University to earn a Bachelor’s Degree.