Back On Track

Mayria Negron, a 48 year-old Ravenswood resident and a single mother of three children, was laid off from her job as a Nutritionist Aide at Mount Sinai Hospital in June 2012 after 10 years of continuous employment.

Mayria thought she had done everything to solidify her family’s future when she earned an associate’s degree in Business Administration from Plaza College. For Mayria, getting laid off was a fatal blow, or so she thought.

On September 24, 2012, after three months of unemployment, Mayria Negron enrolled in the Urban Upbound’s Employment Services program. She was assigned a career counselor and immediately began updating her resume and practicing for interviews. She also received much needed support and encouragement from her counselor. With renewed faith in the job search process, Mayria started looking for work, however, she was forced to stop her job search to attend to emergencies surrounding her personal life. In October 2012, her 20 year-old son was severely injured and though he survived his wounds, he was now terrified of leaving his apartment.

Falling three months behind on her rent, Mayria knew that she needed to bounce back. In February 2013, Mayria received a call from her career counselor about her interest in applying for a call center position. Mayria, who is bilingual (Spanish and English), with no experience working at a call center, attended a pre-screening event at the Workforce1 center which resulted in a scheduled interview with the employer. Mayria was very excited about this opportunity but she was worried that she did not have professional attire to wear on the interview. Understanding the importance of making a good first impression, Mayria’s career counselor referred her to Dress for Success where she was provided with professional interview clothes.

Mayria aced the interview and was immediately offered the position. Today, Mayria is employed as a Customer Service and Reservation Specialist for Global Contact Services (GCS), and is paid well above minimum wage. Although Mayria continues to fight the good fight that most single parent mothers living in public housing fight each day, she is happy that she is now gainfully employed through Urban Upbound’s help and she is now working on getting her finances back on track.