Good Things Come to Those Who Persevere

March 11, 2011 — By Amy Radik

There’s an old saying, “Nothing in life worth having comes easy.” Single mom Megan Arnold whole heartedly agrees. “If you want something bad enough, you can’t be lazy, you just have to keep trying until you reach your goal,” she says. Megan has reached hers. She is now a graduate of FM’s CNA Program, and it was anything but easy.

“I am an educated woman and always held a job,” says Megan. “However, life happens. I had my son and took some time off of to be a mom. When I was ready to go back to work, there was nothing there for me.” Megan spent three and a half years out of work and knew if she didn’t utilize DSS, she would not be able to take care of her family.

“I won’t say going to DSS (Department of Social Services) wasn’t demeaning for me,” Megan says. “While looking for work, you are told to go to work sites to freshen up your job skills. I was going to a church cleaning the pews. Anyone who thinks receiving social services is getting a ‘free ride’ really has no comprehension of what is involved. It’s no picnic.”

After years of struggling to find work, there was a break through for Megan. She was told about a HEALTH Grant being offered by FM. The grant would provide a free education in certain healthcare fields to an unemployed/incumbent worker living in Fulton, Montgomery, or Schoharie County. Megan was already volunteering at Nathan Littauer’s Nursing Home and discovered how much she enjoyed working with the elderly population. She thought the HEALTH Grant opportunity was exactly what she was waiting for, and she was right.

“Megan was the first student to complete a HEALTH Grant application and the first to be accepted into the program which began July 2010,” says Laura Lander, Coordinator of HEALTH Grant. “She blew us away in the interview. She was continually overcoming obstacles and just needed a chance to get her life back on track. The HEALTH Grant would do this for her.”

“The classes and clinicals were tough,” says Megan. “One mistake and you could be out the door, believe me, I know. I had to fight to keep my spot. I can’t thank the staff at FM enough for their constant encouragement and support. You wouldn’t understand unless you go through it yourself, but I am a whole person again. I do not depend on the ‘system’ and I hope to never find myself in that situation again.”

Almost two weeks after Megan graduated from the four-week program at FM, Megan was hired as a CNA at Johnstown’s Visiting Nurses. “I couldn’t be happier,” says Megan. “The people I care for are not my clients, they are my friends. Sometimes I am the only face they see. I am making a difference in their lives, just as FM made a difference in mine.”

Megan plans to continue her education in healthcare. She will be taking the LPN admissions test through BOCES in March. “I am living comfortably now, but want to make a better living for my son. I want to be a good role model to him. I want to show him that you should never stop trying for something you want, no matter how hard it is to get there. There’s always a way.”

Amy Radik is Coordinator of Public Relations & Marketing at FM.