Amanda’s Story

Meet Amanda Amanda had tried a few different careers, but what she really wanted was to be in construction. She loved being out in the field, wielding tools and building things, but didn’t have the skills to get hired. She was connected with a United Way THRIVE career coach, and that’s when things started to change. Amanda worked with her career coach to develop a plan. She got help with her resume and interview techniques and she enrolled in United Way THRIVE’s vocational training program and began learning the skills she would need to land her dream job. After completing the vocational training, Amanda was hired into an apprenticeship program – but she didn’t stop there. Amanda continued to take advantage of United Way THRIVE’s financial stability services and started working with a financial coach. She started keeping a budget, paying off debt, growing her savings, and working to build up her credit score. “I walked away with a whole new path for my life. I walked away with dreams that I never had before. They’re giving me the opportunity to do it and so I’m doing it. I’m on the path to success.” Amanda has since moved on to another job as an electrical apprentice, earning even more than she had been before. She plans to continue developing her skills and gaining experience so that she can become a journeyman in her field. Once she reaches that goal, Amanda has big plans for her family: not only are they going to get a home of their own, they are going to help build it! Amanda wants to take the skills she has learned and apply them to help build a home for her family. “I knew that this one apprenticeship program, this one job, this opportunity to get those skills was the one thing that I needed to get myself in that place financially where I could start planning and dreaming of a home,” Amanda says. “Now I can dream about exactly where I’m going.”