“In December, before I came to Fresh Start, I was at my absolute rock bottom. Now I’m grateful to be able to see and talk and breathe. I can feel the sunlight on my skin. It’s really just been a blossoming and blooming experience.”
In 2022, Emoni* was building a career at a national financial institution. She felt like her life was moving in the right direction, then her health declined. She had no choice but to step away from work and focus on getting better.
When Emoni recovered, she assumed the hardest part was behind her. But it wasn’t.
“Once I got better, I started searching for a job, but there wasn’t anything,” Emoni said. “I looked for a year and a half.”
A year and a half of applications and subsequent rejection. Emoni attended a Fresh Start career fair at the encouragement of a family friend, although she eventually ended up starting a teaching assistant position at a local Phoenix charter school. While in her role, Emoni helped pilot a finance program, welcoming Chase and Arizona Financial Credit Union into the classroom to teach students about money and financial literacy.
“[The students] loved it so much. It really warmed my heart and reactivated my love for finance. I knew that was where I wanted to be.”
Unfortunately, when the school year ended, her contract wasn’t renewed. Emoni told herself that she would be fine and that it would be easy to find something quickly. She started her search in May with confidence. By October, that confidence quietly eroded into something much heavier.
“What am I going to do in life if I can’t get a job? I won’t be able to live,” Emoni said. “This year is just passing me by, and I feel like I’m in the same spot I was in a year ago. I was really sad and depressed and had given up on everything.”
The structure of Emoni’s days completely dissolved: she couldn’t sleep, staying up until the sun rose and sleeping through the afternoon. Some days she ate, some days she didn’t. She watched the people around her as they graduated, got married, advanced in their careers, and she couldn’t silence the voice in her head that asked when it would be her turn.
“I’m an adult, and it feels like you should be somewhere other than where you are. I know comparison is the thief of joy.”
By December, Emoni had reached rock bottom. She struggled to see the way forward, then something shifted.
Late one night, while scrolling through rejection letters in her email inbox, a glimmer of hope stood out. An email from Fresh Start. Emoni had forgotten about it after their career fair years prior. Now, the name landed differently.
“It aligned perfectly with what I needed: a fresh start. I know that’s why the name is what it is. I thought nothing else was working, so let’s apply to this.”
Recalling her passion for finance after bringing it to students at her school, Emoni applied to the Women in Finance program. She spoke with Fresh Start staff, and something in her responded.
“It felt like something was screaming at me that this was where I was supposed to be.”
With her acceptance notice in hand, Emoni didn’t fully know what to expect from the program. But she made a promise to herself: she would show up and commit completely.
“I really wanted to be consistent in something, and I thought, ‘Okay, I can do seven weeks, Monday through Thursday…’ I thought this would give me the schedule and discipline that I need to get back into the workforce.”
From the very first day, the program gave Emoni the structure she’d been missing for months. Fresh Start staff made something clear early on: every woman in the classroom had earned the spot to be there. She was so motivated to show up for herself that she started changing other elements of her life: she wrote her goals down, she did morning affirmations, started eating healthy again, and went to yoga and exercised consistently.
“I started being kinder to myself. No more, ‘Ugh, this rejection, they don’t want me, what’s wrong with me?’ I wanted to be kind to myself, so I looked up ways to pour into myself.”
As the program continued, Emoni felt she’d never been in a space where the resources were real, the people genuinely cared, and the support felt mutual.
“Being in the classroom and surrounded by all the different women, and hearing their stories, it really put things into perspective that I wasn’t alone, and I wasn’t the only one going through this,” Emoni shared. “My classmates have all been so kind, loving, and supportive. I wanted to show up for them, too.”
For the first time in a long time, Emoni saw herself breaking habits that didn’t serve her. She was following up on the promise she made at the beginning of the program to be consistent. Even on mornings when she was tired and it would’ve been easier to stay home, she pushed through.
“Fresh Start and this program really helped me with that: pushing myself even when I’m tired, stressed, and other outside factors of life are affecting me. To not give up and to be consistent.”
Seven weeks later, Emoni completed the Women in Finance program. Looking back, she’s proud that she was consistent and committed even though that hadn’t been her strong suit during unemployment.
“My life is different because I’ve proved to myself that I can accomplish something and stick to it and complete it,” Emoni shared. “I feel way more confident in my job search. I feel more confident in myself, not just career-wise, but personally.”
The transformation Emoni had made from December at her rock bottom to March as a graduate of the Women in Finance program was monumental.
“It’s really been a blossoming and blooming experience. I really feel like now I see life differently in every aspect.”
Emoni hopes that other women sitting in the same darkness she once occupied knows that there is a light at the end of the tunnel.
“I hope they know that life doesn’t have to look a certain way by a certain age…you can start over as many times as you want. You have to be willing to change, do the work, be dedicated, and love yourself…know that you can be down and out and there’s still sunshine.”
Before the Women in Finance program ended, Emoni started the interview process with JPMorgan Chase and was excited about the possibility of blending her love for community and finance. She was hired as a full-time Virtual Banker at JPMorgan Chase shortly after completing the program.
Today, Emoni continues to give back to the Fresh Start community by sharing her journey with women currently enrolled in the Women in Finance program. In July 2026, she returned as a guest speaker, offering encouragement, insights, and firsthand perspective on how the program helped launch her career in the financial industry.