Nettie Carter Smith, director of community relations at Rocking Horse, said this partnership started a little more than a year ago.
The graduation for the students, which was held Friday, included Ashley Ruggles, Breana Cobb, Danielle Burton, Christy Hawkins, Chloe Burkhard, Keyla McCray, Cynthia Jennings and Erin Gregg.
“We are so excited for them. They’ve put in a lot of work, with working full time and going to school full time, they’re really committed,” Smith said.
Burton, who has worked for Rocking Horse for a little over two years, said she was excited to graduate.
“I have a new confidence about myself. I was definitely a little nervous at first... so it’s very exciting and liberating,” she said. “It was really a great opportunity.”
Burton said Rocking Horse offered them the opportunity to get the certificate and helped make it stress free on them. She said they gave them book vouchers and didn’t have to pay anything out of pocket.
“We didn’t have to worry about scheduling. We didn’t have to worry about anything. It just made it really nice,” she said. “They did this with the sole purpose of trying to help us.”
Breana Cobb, another graduate and employee of over seven years, agreed with Burton, saying she was also kind of nervous.
“I am very excited. It’s been a long journey, but I’ve accomplished it. I was kind of nervous about going back to school but overall happy that I did it,” she said. “Big thanks to Rocking Horse, Clark State and OhioMeansJob. Thanks to them for letting us have this opportunity. If it wasn’t for them, I wouldn’t have went back to school.”
Now that the eight have gotten their certificate, they can take the exam to become a certified medical assistant, which has more responsibilities such as drawing blood, giving injections and working along providers.
Tiffany Hunter, provost and vice president of academic affairs at Clark State, said helping to educate the community is what the partnership is about.
“Part of our mission, goals, visions and guiding principles is engaging with the community, educating the community and doing what we can to support them, so anytime we get the opportunity to do that, we are happy to do so,” she said.
“To the students that completed the course work, we are so proud of you and we will continue to keep you in our thoughts as you move to the next step of completing your exam, successfully passing it and becoming a certified medical assistant,” Hunter added.
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