There are as many
Michigan Works! success stories as there are employees out there, but Mary Brown of Sault Ste. Marie is really something special among them.
She was honored at the recent 2011 Michigan Works! Association Alumni Celebration, for being such a good example of a job seeker who found gainful employment through Michigan Works!
Brown's story may sound familiar to a lot of folks in Michigan. Her husband was laid off from a Detroit-area job, and the family, including three children, moved up to Sault Ste. Marie so Mary could go to Lake Superior State University. She studied to become a registered nurse and worked toward a degree, but times got even rougher, and her family needed some outside help. Mary looked to the Eastern Upper Peninsula Michigan Works! Service Center for help to finish her degree.
The agency helped with tuition, books, and even money for car tires, so Mary could get to her clinical studies site safely. She finally got her degree and now is employed on the surgical floor at War Memorial Hospital in Sault Ste. Marie, where her supervisor says she brings not only caring nursing, but a wide life experience to her job.
"Michigan Works! gave me the resources and confidence I needed to achieve my goal, from tuition and books to the wheels I needed to get there. I thank you sincerely," says Brown.
She now gives back in other ways as well, volunteering at the Safe Haven homeless shelter and as a trained navigator, who helps people find resources to move up and out of poverty.
It's pretty clear she earned the Outstanding Alumni of the Year Award presented to her at the annual celebration.
Writer: Sam EgglestonSource: Mary Brown, Michigan Works! Association Alumni
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