Adult students continue to reinvent their careers by taking courses and earning degrees at John Wood Community College. This opportunity is now open to Jennifer Stickler of Quincy, Ill., who won this year’s JWCC Foundation/WGEM Career Makeover competition.
Stickler emerged from a field of nearly 50 applicants to earn a two-year, full-tuition scholarship to pursue an associate degree at JWCC.
Even with the knowledge, experience and confidence for jobs, Stickler found that employers are emphasizing the need for applicants to have a degree.
“This is my second chance at my education,” Stickler said. “I’ve realized that I’m better equipped now, than I was right out of high school, to put forth the effort and get the results I know I am capable of.”
Stickler’s motivation for going back to school extends beyond herself, to set an example for her three children.
“Getting my education is an important example to all of my children, but especially for my daughter. I want her to see, not on TV or in a book, but in real life and time, a woman, chasing after her dream, feeling empowered and like she can conquer the world,” Stickler shared.
Stickler will begin eight-week courses as part of her associate degree this March.
Runners-up to the competition are Melissa Hess and Megan Pierce. The two will each receive a $1,500 JWCC scholarship for the 2019-2020 academic year.
The JWCC Foundation began in 1984 to advance the College’s mission and create educational opportunities through giving. In addition to the annual Career Makeover competition, the foundation awards more than $60,000 in private scholarships to JWCC students each year and supports multiple programmatic and capital projects for the College.
“This is one more way the JWCC Foundation creates educational opportunities,” Barbara Dietrich Holthaus, executive director of the JWCC Foundation Board said. “Thanks to the continued partnership with WGEM, the Career Makeover contest is a public way of showing the power education has to change someone’s life.”
WGEM supports the project as an extension of serving the community and its partnership with JWCC.
“The Career Makeover isn’t just a competition, it is a life changing event,” Carlos Fernandez, WGEM vice president and general manager said. “We are proud to partner with the JWCC Foundation to help people change their lives for the better.”
