Finding Opportunity
CLIMB Center for Advancement | 971-722-2798 | climb@pcc.edu
AJ McFarland
AJ McFarland
Like thousands of other Oregonians, AJ McFarland was laid off when the economy took a turn for the worse. Not to be discouraged, he decided to take the opportunity to work toward his dream of becoming a nurse. He took his severance pay and enrolled in the CNA 1 program at PCC's CLIMB Center for Advancement.
"I knew the way to go was to get the CNA training to be able to work in the field," he said. "Once you get that training it makes it that much easier to get into the nursing program." Within a week of finishing the program, McFarland secured a job at a skilled nursing facility. Nine months later, he was offered his first job at a hospital.
"After coming out of the CLIMB program I had the skills and knowledge to move my career to the next step," he said. "If it hadn't been for PCC and CLIMB and the direction I got from them, at this point I wouldn't be moving forward in my health care career."