“Before [Fresh Start], I didn’t have any energy to get up and get out of bed. I was so depressed. Since I started this program, every day has been like, ‘Woo, let’s go.’ I have this confidence now that I can do everything that I want to achieve.”
The end of a marriage brings a range of emotions, and, as anyone would, Norma* felt the sudden shock as a 20-year chapter of her life harshly closed.
“I gave everything and thought I was settled with my family, home, and business. Then, to lose all of that, it’s like a 180-degree turn. What am I going to do now?”
For the past 11 years she was a stay-at-home mom for her two daughters and relied on her husband for financial support and security.
“I didn’t have any income. So, when I separated, I was lost, completely lost. I didn’t know what to do.”
In the two and a half years since she divorced her husband, Norma struggled to find sustainable work and was forced to live off of her savings to support her two daughters.
Norma wanted to keep her daughters lives as similar as possible during the upheaval of the divorce. After leaving her husband, she and her daughters moved in with her sister, but thanks to scholarships, they were able to stay enrolled at the same private school. Norma understood the importance of stability, having moved frequently as a child and struggled to feel settled.
“I don’t want them to go through that. I want them to have a community.”
She struggled with depression and on some days, didn’t have the desire or energy to get out of bed. On those days, Norma found it difficult to explain to her daughters what was going on in her head and how drained she felt. Norma recognized that she was having trouble getting back on her feet and decided to start working with a therapist to nurture her mental health.
“The kids are watching me, and I’m trying to show or teach them that we have to move on.”
When Norma was married, her husband owned an HVAC company. He was the technician, and she assisted as the office manager, handling the business’ finances. At one of her therapy appointments, she talked about her previous experience and expressed that one day she’d like to get back into the finance industry. Norma’s therapist suggested that she contact Fresh Start to gain the career training needed to achieve her goal.
“She gave me the Fresh Start website and told me to take a look… Then I went through the website and thought, ‘Wow,’ and I was amazed I hadn’t heard about you guys.”
Norma applied and was accepted into Fresh Start’s Women in Finance cohort that began in August 2024. Back in a learning environment and with a career goal in sight, Norma’s mental health also received an update.
“Since I started this program, every day is like, ‘Woo, let’s go.’ I have this confidence now that I can do everything that I want to achieve.”
With her days at Fresh Start, Norma felt her confidence reignite.
“I believe that it gave me the confidence to pursue my career journey. It helped me a lot. At Fresh Start, I never felt a day where I wanted to skip the class because I was happy to be here every day.”
After graduating from Women in Finance, Norma was excited about an interview with Chase Bank for a bilingual fraud specialist position.
“I like the position and the pay, but eventually, I want to move to something more like a CPA or accounting because I already know that’s something that I’m good at. I know taxes, and I want to start my own business.”
Norma found stability and security through her Fresh Start journey in tangible steps to education and the career she desired. With the Women in Finance certification, Norma could set her sights on becoming a CPA or fulfilling a shared long-term dream of opening a family restaurant.
“I have three interested sisters. And we could all benefit from it. Once I get back on my feet, I’d want to start the business.”
She knows if she ever needs assistance on her journey to self-sustainability, she can find help within Fresh Start’s doors.
“I know that Fresh Start offers a Small Business Startup program. I want to work in the banking industry, but in the end, I want to start my own business.”
From depressed and nearly bed-bound to mapping out her long-term career goals with actionable steps and skills to achieve them, Norma hopes that other women looking to improve their lives will find Fresh Start.
“It’s a place where you can come and get a fresh start for women who thought there was nowhere to go. I enjoyed being here. I can’t express it enough, but it changed my perspective on the way I see things. It changed me.”