“Go be bold. Go be resilient. Don’t give up because the opportunities are endless and we are so special. We have a voice.”
Katrina* grew up on the Navajo reservation, where sand and dirt roads stretched as far as she could see. It was a life she loved in a gorgeous and rugged landscape, but one she knew couldn’t provide everything she wanted for herself.
“It would have been satisfying, but I didn’t settle,” Katrina shared. “I had a lot to offer, and I wanted to do something, be somebody of influence, and part of that was for my kids: to show them what they’re capable of doing.”
By the time she was 23, Katrina was raising three children on her own. Throughout the years, she worked as a medical assistant, massage therapist, esthetician, and life insurance producer, searching for one career that would finally fit. Katrina’s brothers and father worked in industrial roles, and she saw the stability it offered them and was intrigued by the hands-on nature of the job.
Katrina moved to Phoenix for more career opportunities, earned a certificate in electromechanical technology, and found work as a technician at a local casino. It was progress, but working nights in a mainly male driven field came with its own weight—and when a coworker physically assaulted her, she didn’t tell anyone in her personal life.
“I’m not going to break,” Katrina said. “I stood up for myself, and with him not being there, I had so much success.”
He was fired, and it turned out she wasn’t the only one he’d targeted.
“I was the one who put a stop to that. Women have a voice, and we’re powerful, and I didn’t realize how impactful my standing up was until talking about it now.”
Around the same time, Katrina noticed her youngest daughter struggled to find direction after high school. Katrina knew the feeling. She recalled her internal search for a career field that would bring her purpose and fulfill her passion.
Katrina encouraged her daughter, Aliyah*, to sign up for the Fresh Start semiconductor manufacturing technician program in October 2025, but Katrina had a trick up her sleeve. On the first day of class, Katrina drove Aliyah to Fresh Start and followed her inside; she was taking the program too!
“I thought, ‘We need to make something happen because she’s feeling down and out. I need to motivate her.’ And it felt like I could do something fun too,” said Katrina. “So, we took the chance to be here.”
They became the first mother-daughter duo to go through the semiconductor training program at Fresh Start together.
“Mainly, I came to support her,” Katrina said, “but I also got a lot of points to add to myself and to my resume.”
For Katrina, signing up for the program was one thing, but showing up day after day, exhausted and stretched impossibly thin, was another.
Katrina worked night shifts from 10:00PM to 6:00AM Her daughter drove them both to class each morning while Katrina slept in the passenger seat. She attended the semiconductor program at Fresh Start from 9:30AM to 1:30PM, went home to study, slept for a few hours, then did it all again. On top of that, she was weeks away from graduating with an associate’s degree in mechanical maintenance engineering.
“It was a challenge, but I pushed myself to the limit, so I know what I’m capable of doing. I know my daughter watched me, and now she knows what she’s capable of. You can push yourself to the limit if you really want something.”
When Katrina went back to school for her associate degree, a part of her hesitated to set foot in a classroom.
“I was 40 years old. I thought, ‘What am I doing?’ I felt like it would be hard to get back into school. I didn’t have the confidence.”
Fresh Start changed that.
“I signed up not knowing everything that the program entailed, but I feel like it’s really brought a lot of confidence back to my daughter and me, too. It’s definitely helped us get back on track.”
Katrina was promoted within her department at Casino Arizona after just 15 months of employment. Her resume now lists her semiconductor technician and electromechanical technologies certifications, as well as an associate degree. But what she’s most proud of can’t be put on a resume: her children’s blossoming successes.
Her oldest daughter just finished an associate’s degree in business. Her son works as a data technician and recently welcomed Katrina’s first grandchild. And her youngest, Aliyah, the daughter for whom she took the program, graduated from the semiconductor technician program alongside her and was hired as a Semiconductor Production Associate.
“Aliyah’s brother and sister are very inspired by her coming to Fresh Start. It’s making their wheels turn. I focus on all of their success, and I want to motivate them and celebrate everyone’s successes.”
Katrina is still digging and finding new parts of herself she didn’t know were there.
“I feel like there’s a lot more to me, and I’m just digging it out. I’m finding it as I go. I’m really wanting to home in on my skills…and I keep digging and opening new portions of my mind,” Katrina said.
Her goals now center on watching and supporting her children as they step fully into their own lives, so she can step fully into hers.
“I spent all these years being a mom and giving 150%, and it took time away from myself. My goals are coming along, but my next goal is for my kids to move out and have them be successful on their own…that’s the only way I can truly breathe and maybe go on vacation and have a retirement.”
Twenty years ago, a girl on the reservation with sand roads and big dreams couldn’t have mapped this path. She never stopped believing she had something to offer the world, and Katrinas mission continues: to show her children they can do the same.
“I can’t really pinpoint it, but I know I was led here. It all came together, and I’m excited about it.”
Want to learn more about Katrina’s daughter, Aliyah*, and her journey? You can read her Success Story on our website here.