Martha Moraga worked hard to raise her four children while earning a high school diploma at The Excel Center®, Goodwill’s high school for adults. She strives to be a role model for all of her children - with the goal of becoming a medical assistant - and her teachers believe she already sets a great example.

“Martha is the perfect blend of a student,” said Mark Berry, a humanities instructor at The Excel Center. “She is willing to engage, work hard even when the content is tough and refuses to give up when faced with life's challenges.”

While earning her Core 40 diploma at The Excel Center, Martha also worked closely with a Goodwill Guide, Jessamon Jones. Guides are career coaches who support The Excel Center’s graduates as well as soon-to-be graduates. With Jessamon’s help, Martha won a McClelland Scholarship in the spring of 2018. She worked hard on preparing for the interview portion of the process.

“I enjoyed sharing my story with the interview panel,” Martha said. “I valued being taken seriously and felt truly heard. Winning the scholarship was major, but the experience as a whole was transformational.”

Martha used the scholarship to complete a phlebotomy class; through the coursework, she realized that she did not only want to draw blood all day, but she also wanted patient contact to help people.

“I wanted a wider skillbase and medical knowledge,” Martha said. “I decided to keep going on a healthcare career pathway and become a certified clinical medical assistant.”

With the help of her Guide, Martha was able to use a grant to enroll in a Certified Clinical Medical Assistant (CCMA) class. Her Excel Center director, Nigel Bryant, was not surprised to witness Martha’s success.

“With patience, persistence and perseverance, Martha always displayed a sense of dedication and urgency when it came to reaching her goals,” Nigel said. “While things didn't always go the way she expected them to, she met every challenge with confidence, took every mistake as motivation and never doubted her ability in the face of adversity. She has the heart of a champion which is evident in her continued success as she strives to reach her goals.”

Martha has always had a passion for helping people, and with her newfound career path as a CCMA, she will be able to live out her passion every day.

“I appreciate the services that Goodwill has provided for me,” Martha said. “And I will always be an ambassador of their work by sharing my story.