Weight Off My Shoulders

Tuscola – Konnar Warren was enrolled in the Radiography program at Delta College with 2 semesters remaining to complete her associate degree. She was struggling to find the finances to complete her degree as the demands of the program did not allow time for her to work. In August of 2022, she came to the GST Michigan Works! Caro Service Center to start the process of approval for WIOA funding. When asked about what challenges she was facing in her current job search, she stated “College students are facing large amounts of debt and little to no time to hold a full-time job.”  This is a common challenge for full-time college students and luckily on August 29th, Konnar was approved for funds to assist her in completing her last 2 semesters at Delta College.

During her studies, Konnar was commuting back and forth from Cass City to Saginaw, Monday through Friday. In December, she was excited to be offered an externship at St. Mary’s Hospital in Saginaw where she states that the technologists there provided her with an amazing learning experience that will carry her into her career.

In April of 2023, Konnar graduated with honors. Not only did she obtain a degree in Radiography, but also in General Management. She took her state registry exam on May 2nd to become a state certified Radiologic Technologist!

Completing her clinical rotation at St. Mary’s paid off as she was offered a position as a Registered Radiologic Technologist. She began working at Ascension St. Mary’s on May 5th, and now works 30-35 hours a week making $23.85 an hour.

“My clinical rotation was 40 hours/week for an entire year, leaving time for a full-time or even part-time job very difficult. [GST] MI Works! provided me with funds to cover my tuition for multiple semesters, taking that weight off my shoulders. GST MI Works helped provide funds for my state registry exam as well, making the stress leading up to the exam much less. I also had an amazing case worker that checked in with me monthly during my clinical year and took time out of her schedule to have conversations about my well-being. Having that one-on-one connection was very helpful.”