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October 9, 2009 SouthWest Skill Center Celebrates Completion of 168 Students Programs Serve a Full Range of Students - From First-Time Job Seekers to Career Changers Avondale, Arizona - October 9, 2008 - Estrella Mountain Community College's SouthWest Skill Center will celebrate the completion of 168 students during it's completion ceremony on October 23, 2009 at 4:00 p.m. to be held in the Estrella Mountain Community College Ceremonial Plaza. The SouthWest Skill Center offers a variety of programs in distribution logistics and allied health which take approximately 6 weeks to 11 months to complete. During this challenging economic time, the Skill Center has been able to serve many students who were laid off, or needed the skills to be competitive in today's workforce. Because the programs offered at the Skill Center are short-term, students can get their certificates and begin working in a very short amount of time. Kristin Carden is a full-time student at Estrella Mountain Community College pursing an associate's degree in science. She hopes to transfer to a medical school at either the University of Arizona or Arizona State University to someday become a nurse or doctor. But, like many students, she wanted to be sure of what she's working toward and decided to enroll in the phlebotomy program at the college's SouthWest Skill Center, "It's a foot in the door," said Carden. "I'm learning medical terminology and the general knowledge and skills you need for phlebotomy which will hopefully help me decide what exactly I want to do in the medical field." Carden will celebrate her certificate of completion in phlebotomy and address her peers as a student speaker at the ceremony on the 23rd. Delia Ledesma began her journey through higher education at the age of 17 at Arizona State University; however, it became cost prohibitive once she got married and no longer had the financial support of her family. Ledesma began working as a school secretary for the Glendale Elementary School District and decided at one point that she'd like to go back to school and finish her degree. Because she worked in the school system, she began pursuing a teaching degree, but it "just wasn't for me," she said. She ended up helping out in a school nurse's office and something clicked for her. "I loved helping the kids and their parents, so I decided I wanted to become a nurse," she said. Ledesma enrolled at Estrella Mountain Community College and began taking the pre-requisites for nursing when she happened by the SouthWest Skill Center. She decided that the format of the Skill Center program fit better with her lifestyle - a working mother of four children. Ledesma will celebrate her certificate of completion in practical nursing and plans to continue on to the registered nurse program at the college. For additional information about the SouthWest Skill Center, please call 623-535-2700. Estrella Mountain Community College is located on Thomas and Dysart Roads in Avondale and offers transfer-ready academic courses and job-specific occupational training to approximately 13,000 students annually. Estrella Mountain is part of the Maricopa County Community College District, one of the largest community college districts in the nation. For more information visit www.estrellamountain.edu or www.maricopa.edu. Media Contact: Carissa Pool (623) 935-8054 carissa.pool@estrellamountain.edu |
