A  New Year brings Professional and Educational Opportunities for 2009 Plaza Graduate

By Jonathan Howle, Director of Alumni Relations

 

2011 promises to be an incredible year for Ms. Latasha Ward. An accomplished 2009 graduate of Plaza College’s Medical Assisting program, she has found an exciting new job in her field and has been accepted into a highly reputable nursing program.  

Currently, Ms. Ward is working for ACLD (Adults and Children with Learning Disorders). She works in a residential setting and helps her patients to become more “self-sufficient, self-advocating, self-driven, self-actualized individuals,” Ms. Ward said. She also helps her patients with behavioral issues, personal hygiene, transportation, taking medication, and recreational activities.

“I love my job, the people I work with, and the individuals I take care of. I also get a raise every six months,” Ms. Ward said.

Latasha Ward, a proud member of the Alumni Association and 2009 MA graduate, has found a terrific job and is about to begin nursing school.

Ms. Ward can trace her success back to the education she received at Plaza College and the professional opportunities with which Plaza provided her. She recalled, “Plaza showed me how to be a ‘people person.’ Then, on my externship, I learned how to handle different patients and different situations.”

In addition to this success, Ms. Ward was recently accepted into the Trinitas School of Nursing, which is affiliated with Union County College in Elizabeth, New Jersey. She will begin her nursing courses in August 2011. Ultimately, she plans to become a registered nurse and open her own nursing home, assisted living home, or a half-way house one day.

 To those who aspire to follow in Ms. Ward’s extraordinary footsteps, she passionately advises, “Strive for the best, whatever opportunities you are given. Take it if it’s going to benefit you in the long run. Do not say ‘you can’t do it’ because once you put your mind to something, you can!”