Iris Holbrook vividly recalls a conversation with her daughter back in 2004 during which she unknowingly issued a self-fulfilling prophecy on becoming a physical therapy assistant.

Although Iris had been working comfortably in an office job at a West Liberty manufacturing plant for three years, she confessed to her college-student daughter that she would like to attend college and pursue a medical career if the opportunity arose.

“Two weeks later, I got a letter saying the plant was being closed,” Iris says. “I took that as a sign that it was time to do this.”

Iris had a clear idea of the career she wanted to pursue, but lacked the resources necessary to pay for her college training. The Workforce Investment Act (WIA) Dislocated Worker program opened up a world of opportunity that allowed Iris to achieve her goal of a medical career.

“When I said I would like to go to college, I wasn’t thinking that the opportunity would actually be there,” Iris says. “It was something that happened for other people all the time, not me. WIA changed that.”

Iris, now 43, began working as a physical therapy assistant in June at the Morgan County ARH Hospital. She helps patients at the hospital recover from injuries and manage chronic pain, and travels throughout the county providing physical therapy care to homebound patients.

Iris says she thrives on having the opportunity to actively pursue what she calls a “helping career.”

“I can see them changing and improving day by day,” Iris says. “That progress makes me feel good, because it reminds me that I really am helping them and changing their lives.”

Iris is grateful for the WIA help that changed her life. Soon after the layoff was announced in May 2004, officials from the Eastern Kentucky Concentrated Employment Program, Inc. (EKCEP) and the Kentucky Office of Employment and Training held a meeting at the manufacturing plant to help employees get on track toward training for new careers. Iris was referred to Gateway Community Action in West Liberty to find out how the WIA Dislocated Worker program and federal Trade Act could help her retrain for a new career.

The Gateway office is an access point for the JobSight network, a collaborative partnership of workforce and training agencies administered by EKCEP. EKCEP—a Hazard-based nonprofit agency—administers WIA and Trade Act services, and other workforce development programs in 23 eastern Kentucky counties. The Trade Act provides assistance for workers whose jobs move to foreign countries.

Iris chose to train full-time to become a physical therapy assistant. She began her studies at Hazard Community and Technical College’s Lees College Campus in Jackson and completed her studies at the college’s main campus in Hazard, earning an associate’s degree in applied science in May.

WIA and Trade Act funds covered Iris’ tuition and textbook fees, and even picked up the fee for Iris’ licensing exam with the Kentucky State Board of Physical Therapy, according to Sidney Castle, Iris’ WIA career adviser. This financial help allowed Iris to use other financial assistance to cover the additional cost of her daily gas, food, and other expenses during her college experience. Iris says that assistance was critical because of the two-hour trip from her rural Morgan County home to campus.

“We helped Iris in every direction possible,” Sidney says. “I just feel good that we were part of her life and could open these doors for her. She worked very hard, so we’re certainly proud of everything she has done.”

Although Iris’ new qualifications and the current demand in the health care industry would make it possible for her to go nearly anywhere she could imagine and find a job, she says she plans to remain at Morgan County ARH Hospital. She thanks WIA for making it possible for her to have a professional career that did not require her to leave home.

“WIA helping me get through college has given me the opportunity to stay close to home, be with my family, and finally make a good living,” Iris says. “I couldn’t have done what I’ve done without my family, or without WIA.”

• • •

To download a printer-friendly PDF version of the above Success Story, click here.

To open and print this document, you must have Adobe Reader software.
(That software can be downloaded for free by clicking this link, and following the instructions)