Student Success Stories

Ann Marie Edwards 

Ann Marie Edwards had no formal IT experience when enrolling in Lehman College's CompTIA+ Computer Technician program. Through a quick internet search, she discovered the ASSET scholarship. "I thought, you know what, let me challenge myself. Let me see if I can do this," she shared. The scholarship allowed her to pursue further education and shift her career trajectory. Once accepted into the program, she appreciated the hands-on experience with hardware and the detailed security training it provided. Read More

 

Katrina Yardbrough 

Katrina Yardbrough researched Medical Billing and Coding programs for months before she decided that Lehman College would be her best option to advance her career. After discovering programs through other colleges were not affordable, she applied for and received an ASSET Scholarship. In her own words, “I applied, wrote up my statement, and I got it. That scholarship was an incredible help to me. I wrote from my heart, I got personal, and I think that’s why I got it.”Read More

Emmanual Vargas Francisco, High School CNA

Emmanuel Vargas Francisco was born in the Dominican Republic. He came to the U.S. when he was 12 years old, where he grew up in the Bronx in a family of people working in medicine. He participated in an innovative SkillSpring program of The New Jewish Home, which provides high school students with valuable experience working in healthcare and as many as five allied healthcare certifications (e.g., Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA), Patient Care Technician), allowing them to immediately seek employment and have supplementary income while attending college.Read More

Kayla Neverson, Certified Phlebotomist

At age 19, Kayla Neverson is pursuing her dream of becoming a registered nurse. Lehman College has helped her prepare for her future career with a variety of medical industry classes and certificates, including in Phlebotomy. She was inspired by her aunt, who works as a phlebotomist. When Kayla was younger, she would go with her aunt to work where she watched her draw blood for dozens of patients. That’s when she knew that she wanted to enter the medical field.Read More

Beth Smith, Cannabis Entrepreneur

Beth Smith has been an Elementary and Special Education teacher for 23 years, until May 2023, when she was awarded one of the dispensary licenses approved through the Office of Cannabis Management. Beth is proud to be one of the few women with a CAURD license in the state. She applied for a license with her son and his best friend and with the help of the Bronx Cannabis Hub. Read More

Claudia Hurtado, NCLEX-RN Program Graduate

Claudia Hurtado is an immigrant who gave up her life as a successful nurse in order to flee from political persecution in South America. She never thought that she would immigrate from my country. With 8 years of experience in critical care and cardio surgery, she had a wonderful life there – big house, happy marriage. She left her country and came to the U.S. where she had to begin a whole new life. "I had to leave everything in my country, my house and everything, at 42 years old. Nobody is safe in my country. You just survive. My youngest child was 2 years old, and there was no medicine, no milk, no anything for him." With limited english and no way to get her certifications from her home country, Claudia was forced to start all over in the U.S. That's where the NCLEX Immigrant Nursing Program stepped in to help her train for a U.S. nursing credential.Read More

Mario Deda, CompTIA

Marijan Deda, Mario to his friends, is a lifelong New Yorker. He had a good job as a doorman but felt stuck. Mario enrolled in CompTIA+ Computer Technician program at Lehman College to turn his interest in computers into a career. After completing the program, he joined Lehman’s IT department as a help desk technician. “I had a good job, but it wasn’t where I wanted to be. I’d been studying computer science and computers for a while and that’s what I wanted my path to be...what I really loved.” Mario spends his days using the skills learned in the CompTIA program to respond to IT issues on the Lehman Campus. “What’s good about the job is that I continue to learn. I’ve become the de facto IT tech at home with my family members. Whenever they need help, I go over and take care of whatever their needs are.” He plans to continue his education with Network+, opening new opportunities in areas like programming and web development. “I don’t think I’ve ever had a job like this, where I come to work every day because I’m excited and I love it. I don’t mind staying late. It’s my dream job.” Read More

Alberto Mendoza Garcia, ESL Intensive Program

Alberto Mendoza Garcia arrived in the U.S. in 2010 from Guatemala. A schoolteacher by training, he had trouble finding meaningful employment and making connections in a country where he did not speak the language. After years of self-study, his wife encouraged him to take courses with Lehman College through the ESL Intensive Program. His experience with Lehman has left him feeling more confident and given him the ability better able to express himself and understand the conversations around him. He was able to transition from a job as a janitor to working in shipping and fulfillment at a busy Manhattan electronics store and hopes to one day get certified to teach here in New York City.Read More

Norma De La Rosa, Certified Clinical Medical Assistant

Norma De La Rosa graduated in June 2019 from the Lehman College Certified Clinical Medical Assistant program. Her transition to a career in the healthcare industry came after 13 years working as a travel agent, a job where there was very little room for growth or advancement. As a person with a natural ability to put people at ease, as well as a passion for making challenging experiences easy for others, a phlebotomy certification was a logical choice. This decision led Norma to pursue an additional EKG certification through Lehman College, which has opened the door to working in many other departments including cardiology and presurgical. Read More

Dorothea Marville, Certified Nursing Assistant

   Dorothea Marville is a 33-year-old CNA (certified nursing assistant) working at Montefiore Medical Center in the Bronx. Lehman College helped her prepare to make a transition from retail to her dream career in healthcare after she completed her GED. Dorothea completed her CNA certification through Lehman College in 2021. She is also the recipient of the Helena Rubenstein Scholarship, which she is currently using to complete her PCT (patient care technician) certification. The following are excerpts from an interview with her about her continuing education experience at Lehman College. Read More

Gregory Pereira, Digital Skills for Professionals

   Gregory Pereira and his wife Milka run First Steps Urban Outreach, a family-owned and operated training and certification center for in-home childcare operators. Their training included Google Applications for Small Business, a four-part series where their entire team was introduced to the tools that Google Suite offers to businesses. In addition, Gregory participated in Digital Marketing training, and his daughter completed Microsoft Excel Part 1. This program helped the team at Urban Outreach successfully navigate the transition to providing digital services and has left them feeling prepared for whatever comes next. Read More

Estephany Villavicencio, Certified Clinical Medical Assistant

Estephany Villavicencio was fascinated by medicine since she was a youngster. Although she worked in banking for several years, she was dissatisfied with the business world. With her long-standing passion prevailing, she attended a Lehman College Continuing Education seminar to explore how to become a medical assistant. Although the program is eligible for Workforce 1 voucher that covers the tuition, Estephany’s background in banking did not qualify her to receive this voucher. She worked two jobs and used all of her savings to pursue her quest for medical education. Read More 

Vincent Navarro, EON Reality Certified Virtual Reality/Augmented Reality Developer

 As a member of the first cohort of graduates from the Lehman College Virtual Reality Innovation Academy (VRIA), I became an EON Reality Certified VR/AR Developer in April 2018. This new and exciting 10-month, non-credit training program, is a partnership of Lehman and EON Reality, a world leader in Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR) knowledge transfer. Previously, I earned a BS in chemistry and a MS in computer science, both from Lehman. Read More