Pictured, left to right: Participants Gladys Zapata, Gwen Carpenter, Todd Lopes, Wendy Matos, Ericka Soberanis and Sandra Snyder.


The Stepping Up Community Pipeline is hard at work in Providence hospitals. Since Stepping Up began in the fall of 2007, 88 students have completed internships. Thanks to their commitment to themselves and the program, 70% of graduates are now employed in healthcare jobs.

In May, eight Dorcas Place students began Stepping Up internships through Volunteer Services at Women & Infants Hospital and The Miriam Hospital. Students will learn a variety of new skills from allergy-safe food preparation to stocking medical supplies. A Stepping Up Mock Interview day at Dorcas Place gave eleven students the opportunity to practice interview skills with devoted volunteers from various Lifespan HR Departments. Many thanks to Naomi Foster for organizing the event and to Lifespan professionals Andrea Mansmann, Brandon Melton, Carla Monticello & Terri Pereira. Interviewer comments include:

· "Very positive, enthusiastic and great attitude."
· "I think we'd be lucky to hire her!"
· "Very good presentation, well dressed, not nervous, smiley and personable."

At The Genesis Center, the winter class is celebrating the completion of their internships at Rhode Island Hospital. Gwen Carpenter and Ericka Soberanis have already started jobs at Rhode Island Hospital in Dietary and Housekeeping. Ericka shares, "Stepping Up gave me all the support I needed to succeed when I was in dire need. Now I have so much ambition to go back to school and to become a C.N.A. or even more." Ericka is busy with enrollment at CCRI and brings her positive attitude to work every evening. Gwen is working early mornings in the Rhode Island Hospital kitchen and enrolling in Medical Terminology, among other classes, at Lifespan Learning Institute this fall.

Stepping Up is launching a pilot summer weekday evening Healthcare Career Exploration class at The Genesis Center starting June 7th. While enrollment for this class is now closed, we are excited to begin offering our first evening class as it enables us to serve a larger pool of students. Fall classes will also be held at both The Genesis Center and Dorcas Place. Interested students should call: (401) 781-6110.

Adrienne Irish-Newsome is the newest member of the Stepping Up staff. She joined us in March as a Community Liaison and Career Advisor to help expand the program and work with participants from Woonsocket and South County. Below, she talks about her background and experience, what brought her to Stepping Up, and her role within the program.

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As the newest staff member of Stepping Up, I'd like to introduce myself. I hail from Brooklyn, New York but consider myself a diehard Rhode Islander, having lived here for 30 years now. Prior to joining the Stepping Up staff, I designed and ran an afterschool leadership development and mentoring program for African-American girls in grades 6 through 12. I have also been a teacher, raised funds for the Women's Institute for Leadership Development and Rhode Island Legal Services, and served as human resource manager for the Providence Police Department.

Hired to assist in expanding the Stepping Up Program into Woonsocket, Westerly, and South County, I assumed the position (that's police lingo!) of Career Advisor/Community Liaison on March 8, 2010. I've been very busy over the last three months learning the many facets of this ambitious and important career ladder program. My first day on the job, I met and introduced myself to the members of the Stepping Up Advisory Council at their monthly meeting. On day two I traveled to Landmark Medical Center in Woonsocket to help explain the program to entry level hospital employees and on day three I was at Westerly Hospital meeting with managers about bringing Stepping Up to their employees! Thankfully, our director Aime Brissette, as well as fellow staffers Alaina, Darcy, Elkinsette, Katie, and Naveed have been with me every step of the way showing me the ropes and sharing their considerable knowledge and expertise.

There's so much to learn because Stepping Up provides a multitude of services to incumbent hospital employees and community residents seeking entry level jobs in the health care field. From career exploration and advising, individualized education plans, and scheduling classes, to providing tutoring, mentoring, time management advice, resume and job search help, the program provides all the support a motivated participant needs to advance into a high growth, high demand health care job.

I'm proud to be a part of this organization and look forward to working with Landmark Medical, Thundermist Health Center, South County and Westerly Hospitals, as well as Family Resources and Education Exchange to bring these services to incumbent employees and community residents in Northern and Southern Rhode Island. I can be reached at 401-413-0007 or at anewsome@steppingupri.org.

Jonathan Steele is a CCRI English instructor for Stepping Up's pre-college and college classes. He is also the Coordinator for the Office of Career Placement and Cooperative Education at the Community College of Rhode Island. Below, he offers his experience in working with Stepping Up.

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Teaching with Stepping Up has been a blessing. I have met and worked with well-prepared and motivated students and have been able to nurture and sustain relationships that have lasted two classes over two semesters. Not only do I get to know them better as students, but I develop a healthy respect for them as hardworking people and members of a learning community and a working community. Stepping Up gives its students every opportunity to succeed and every advantage to develop their fullest potential. Darcy is a tireless and top quality counselor and advisor who goes above and beyond to create both a challenging and a comfortable learning environment for her students. I firmly believe that Stepping Up will continue to make a great impact both in the hospital and CCRI communities.

Students who are returning to school after a lengthy absence do best if they can check their doubts and fears at the door and remember that they-as adult students-are the motivators for their own successes. Those who do best in my writing classes take advantage of every opportunity presented to them, from asking questions, participating in class, communicating, and seeing Stepping Up as the resource that it really is.

Robbie Afonso is a CCRI Math instructor for Stepping Up's pre-college and college classes. He began working with the program in 2008 as a tutor, while working toward a Master's degree in Math. Below, he offers his experience in working with Stepping Up.

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In my time with Stepping Up I have worked with many students, covering a multitude of ages, backgrounds, family situations (and so forth). Despite these differences, there is one strong, common bond between all Stepping Up students. Every single student I have come into contact with in the program has a tremendous will to succeed in school. Any student taking a college course understands the necessity of dedication and focus, even through all the tedium that can sometimes come with school work. I am confident in saying that no group of students I have ever encountered at any level handles it as fluidly and professionally as the students with Stepping Up.

I was lucky enough to stumble upon the program nearly two years ago hoping to make a difference, but there has been a great impact on me as well. The students have helped me become a better tutor, teacher and person because of their dedication, enthusiasm and willingness to learn. For this, I am exceedingly grateful and I look forward to many more semesters, both teaching to and learning from, the students with Stepping Up.

Audrey Flagg enrolled in Stepping Up in February 2009 through our Hospital Clerical Training Program. Since enrolling with Stepping Up, Audrey has completed the Clerical Training program, including an internship as a Unit Secretary at Rhode Island Hospital. Following her internship, she quickly landed a job as a Unit Assistant in another department at Rhode Island Hospital, and then was promoted to a full-time Pharmacy Technician position this February. In addition to working full-time, she is enrolled in college classes at CCRI. Below, Audrey talks about her experience with Stepping Up and her plans for the future.

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Q. How did you hear about Stepping Up?
A. I heard about Stepping Up from a friend who works at Rhode Island Hospital.

Q. What were you doing before you joined Stepping Up?
A. Before Stepping Up, I had been recently laid off from my job. I wanted to continue in the healthcare field and hoped to find a position that would challenge me and provide an opportunity for growth.

Q. Where did you intern? How did it prepare you for the work you are doing now?
A. My internship was at Rhode Island Hospital. My training focused on the duties of a Unit Secretary. During my internship I was assigned to a different unit in the hospital each day, and met lots of people along the way. I found this to be a great advantage when I began my current position as a Pharmacy Technician.

Q. What have you learned from your experience working with Stepping Up?
A. Through the Stepping Up program, I've learned that it's never too late to change and try something new.

Q. What are your career goals? How has Stepping Up helped you assess those goals?
A. I look forward to future learning opportunities within the pharmacy and achieving my goal of earning national certification. The career counseling, guidance, and courses that Stepping Up provides have made it possible for me to achieve my goals.

Q. What piece of advice would you give someone that wants to join Stepping Up?
A. Stepping Up is a great opportunity. The counselors are excellent and have a sincere interest in your success. Be sure and take advantage of all resources available through this program.

One of the most inspiring aspects of Stepping Up is hearing about the success stories of our participants. This is what our program is all about - helping people to succeed. The following stories highlight two participants from the community who were unemployed at the time they enrolled in Stepping Up, and have since gone on to begin careers in healthcare.
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Great Story #1:
Ms. L. and her husband are foster parents. In 2009, she was unemployed for over a year due to a layoff in a factory. Her unemployment benefits were due to run out at the end of January 2010. She is now a C.N.A. at The Miriam Hospital, working 32 hours per week and starting at $13.10 per hour with benefits. Ms. L. was recruited from the Crossroads C.N.A. program. She completed Healthcare Career Exploration at Dorcas Place. She stood out from the beginning as motivated and supportive of her classmates. Stepping Up arranged an internship for her on a nursing floor at The Miriam Hospital. She failed her C.N.A. skills test shortly after starting her five-week internship. All of the nurses helped her to study the skills. Upon retaking the test at the end of her internship, she passed with flying colors and gained a whole new confidence in herself. Her Stepping Up graduation speech was heartwarming and her whole family was there to hear it. She was determined to work at The Miriam Hospital and something told her not to pursue other options just yet. Ms. L. received interview preparation, cover letter and resume-writing help from Stepping Up, and was offered a C.N.A. job at The Miriam Hospital on January 27th. She thanked her internship manager for the tremendously influential referral that led to her hire. She began receiving health insurance in March, and is so excited to have landed her dream job.

Great Story #2:
A previously unemployed young participant is now working as a Hostess 25.5 hours per week with benefits at Women and Infants'. She is a mother of two children, cares for her sister with Down's Syndrome, and tries to help her own mother financially. Ms. V. diligently attended every day of her internship as a Unit Aide at Women and Infants' and faithfully attended Job Club. Although she faces a high degree of stress at home, she never lets it show while providing customer service all day at her new job. She is in the process of changing career paths and is very motivated to reach the top. Her new job allows her the flexibility to attend college, and affords her family health insurance and other benefits.