Learn about how the Community Engagement Center offers Workforce Wednesdays and has teamed with nonprofit Humanim for its administrative assistants training in the latest issue of “CATALYST” magazine.
Photo: Shakiara Seals, administrative assistant, Environmental Health and Safety, UMB, is a Humanim program graduate who says of her training, “I put my all into it.”
When Thevella “Thee” Thomas of West Baltimore came to the University of Maryland, Baltimore (UMB) Community Engagement Center’s (CEC) Workforce Wednesdays program to seek help developing her job skills, she was dealing with the pain of losing her parents and her sister. Now, after the program guided her back into the workforce, she is an award-winning employee at the University of Maryland Medical Center (UMMC) who helps patients and their families during their time of need.
“I was unable to cope with my losses and began to seek professional grief counseling, where I heard about UMB’s Workforce Wednesdays,” Thomas said. “I received one-on-one support with writing, brainstorming, and intellectual development skills. These skills allowed me to regain my strength and my willingness to live beyond pain and loss.”
Thomas, who started working at UMMC in 2019 as a patient and family care liaison in the Cardiac Surgery Intensive Care Unit after the program referred her to the position, recently received the hospital’s 2023 Edward Rogers Award for her outstanding dedication to patients, families, and staff.
In the nomination, she was described as embodying “the art of caring. She takes wonderful care of our families in the most stressful time of their lives. She assists the nurses greatly through the care and compassion that she provides for our family members to allow us to focus more on the patient’s immediate needs without worrying that the family is alone and not receiving updates.”
Thomas praised the Workforce Wednesdays walk-in program, which provides one-on-one guidance about job resources in the area, résumé writing, and applications.
“I highly recommend the Workforce Wednesdays program to everyone I know because it trains our community with support and skills for job readiness to live a better life,” Thomas said.
Lisa Rawlings, MBA, director of workforce development and job readiness at the CEC, said when the CEC was created, the No. 1 request from community members was jobs. She said there are many benefits for residents who turn to the CEC for help when job hunting.
“If our neighbors are looking for a job, I encourage them to work with us because job seekers should work with their connections,” she said. “Most people are good at doing their jobs, not looking for a job. We do this every day.”
Administrative Assistant Program
Workforce Wednesdays is just one of the CEC’s offerings to the West Baltimore community to help job seekers gain the skills needed to get on the right track. UMB also has teamed with nonprofit Humanim since 2016 for its Administrative Assistant Career Training, which has resulted in about a dozen program graduates finding employment at UMB or UMMC.
The Humanim program is a free, nine-week course funded by EARN Maryland, a state-funded, competitive workforce development grant program. The program has trained more than 20 students at the CEC over the past year. The fall cohort has launched with 12 students.
The students spend two weeks on professional development including a day of financial literacy; two weeks on Microsoft Office specializing in Outlook; and four weeks on the Professional Administrative Certification of Excellence. The last week is spent visiting employer partners and celebrating with a graduation. Students apply and interview for jobs like other applicants, but because of the partnership, the program can connect students with hiring managers for specific positions.
“We recommend this training to the community at large,” Humanim training manager Wini Alexander said. “We know that this training changes lives, both the students’ and their families’.
Shakiara Seals, administrative assistant, Environmental Health and Safety, UMB, says joining the Humanim program “changed the course of my life.”
“Going to class every day and being able to receive this top-tier training for free was an amazing opportunity,” said Seals, who was part of the first cohort in fall 2016. “It was a mix of life skills and workforce skills. I was provided coaching, professional development resources, and tools to develop and enhance my administrative skill sets.”
Read more about the CEC's efforts in the fall issue of CATALYST magazine.
You can read the Fall 2023 issue of CATALYST magazine, which highlights UMB's Center for Violence Prevention; the University's three new deans; UMB's many innovations such as the School of Pharmacy training students to administer long-acting injectables; community initiatives such as YouthWorks; UMB’s sustainability efforts to install a weather station; and much, much more!