“Working with Fresh Start allowed me the time to get my mental health right and the grace to fail. It took the pressure away from being uncertain about my career to having a plan formulated.”
“Reading that article spoke to me because I was in the middle of a career transition and some personal development.”
Raquelle* held the same job for 10 years but recently felt like her talents weren’t acknowledged and it made her feel uncertain about her future and in limbo.
“I was correlating my output to my value and that wasn’t true. It was a “secure” job to have, but I didn’t feel secure. I felt scrambled mentally.”
She wanted to find a new career but couldn’t broach the subject until she addressed her mental health.
“I took some mental time off for myself and during that time, I knew that my mental health struggles were rooted in my job. I wanted to work there, spent 10-11 years there, but it wasn’t healthy for me. I had to walk away and that was hard.”
After reading the Business Insider article she started researching how people made money through different full-time and side hustle jobs and the semiconductor industry kept popping up, including Fresh Start’s program.
“It was so necessary to take new steps. If I didn’t do this, my life was going to fall apart.”
Raquelle desperately wanted to get out of her toxic work environment and if she could land a job within the semiconductor industry, it would check another box for her.
“In my previous job, I didn’t get a lot of time off and that affected my mental health and my family’s well-being. It’s so critical in my life right now to pick the right job. My daughter is going to start school, and I want a job that doesn’t hinder our relationship, and I can still be there for her.”
She applied to Fresh Start’s semiconductor program in partnership with Estrella Mountain Community College (EMCC) and was very excited when she was accepted in April 2024.
“Once I got in, I grew confident with Fresh Start too. To be able to transition in a busy moment in my life, it was nice to find additional support. Fresh Start helped me make a smoother transition than what I would have been able to do by myself.”
As the course advanced, she began to see how this new career held the potential to change her life for the better.
“I could see it start to formulate a new life path for me and my family. Being able to share this experience with my family like my brother who is in HVAC was cool. We bonded over some of the things that I learned.”
She also found that the process involved in semiconductor manufacturing spoke to the way her brain functioned, and she easily understood the information.
“From my previous experience working on machinery, processes and automation, I could really see what our instructor did and what he talked about, and it sounded like such a fun job… I’m very good at processes and it spoke to me like a familiar niche for how I learn.”
During the fast-paced course, she found that she needed to ask for help in other areas of her life, including care for her daughter while she was in class or working on homework and studying. The art of asking for help wasn’t something Raquelle had a history of accepting and exercising.
“I’m bad at asking for help because I feel like I should be able to just naturally do it all and asking for help isn’t how I function. Overall, once I got my support in place and I knew what worked for me, I created a process that I could stick to, and the program was great.”
To her pleasant surprise, Raquelle and some of her classmates formed strong personal bonds throughout the five-week course.
“We had all shared what was most important to us, so we were seeing exactly what really mattered and what we valued. We all valued being in the semiconductor program and we wanted to keep each other motivated.”
As the women shared their vulnerabilities and desires in participating in the semiconductor cohort, they created a web of accountability amongst the group.
“I wanted to keep my classmates motivated because when I see people succeeding, it motivates me.”
Raquelle also grew on a personal level during her time with Fresh Start and addressed her mindset habits. Before, in challenging times, she automatically created a narrative around why aspects of her life weren’t working and now, instead, she worked to find solutions and next steps.
“Fresh Start allowed me the time to get my mental health right and the grace to fail. It took the pressure away from being uncertain about my career to having a plan formulated. There’s a plan, there’s people to support me through something new and vulnerable for me.”
Through her experience with Fresh Start, Raquelle gained more information, time to be reflective, and space to grow more resilient.
“After finding this group, I feel like I can go back and think about the people that I’ve met and the things I’ve learned, and I know it was all worth it. I got myself here and I am beginning to appreciate the work that I put in. I want to continue to do it for myself. This matters to me.”
With a strong support system behind her and a toolkit of new skills, Raquelle was ready to take on an up-and-coming industry and embark on a new career.
“I’m so glad I had enough courage to do it. There were many things that aligned and happened that got me here and I’m so grateful for that. I was able to get a certification and that’s so great. Everything is coming together for me, and I can see a new path. I feel so good about myself!”
After completing the semiconductor technician course and passing the exam, Raquelle was hired as a Manufacturing Associate at Randstad USA.
“I’m so grateful to Fresh Start to even have this unique opportunity and I really appreciate it. It helped me grow and better my life and helped me feel more confident about my individualism and my differences. There are different types of women in this program, and they are going to succeed too. I’m so grateful.”