A Seattle mother shapes a new life through her passion for healthcare.
February 2013 was a month of change for Sagal, a single mother of two who found herself starting over in Seattle, WA. She arrived in the city with her young children after separating from her husband.
Wasting no time, Sagal went to the local TANF office on her second day to meet with a caseworker. She walked out with information that would transform the quality of life for her family forever.
At the TANF office, she learned of Health Careers for All (HCA) run by the Workforce Development Council (WDC) of Seattle-King County under the first round of the Health Professions Opportunity Grants (HPOG 1.0). In March 2013, Sagal was accepted to HCA. By April, she joined the nursing cohort at South Seattle College (South), working to complete the courses needed to join the licensed practical nurse (LPN) program. She was quick to adapt to the fast-paced environment, but had concerns about how to balance caring for her children, maintaining a steady income, and schoolwork. She moved off TANF benefits when she found a job as a bilingual medical translator, earing $500 monthly. That job allowed her to work from home and spend more time with her children.
Sagal continued working as a translator over the next year as she completed the 4-quarter LPN training at South with high grades, but it was not easy. Due to the high demand of the program and raising her children alone, Sagal suffered from dips in self-esteem and depressive episodes. However, her HCA Navigator encouraged her to seek counseling and talk with others in the program about how they were balancing the demands of the program outside of school. This advice helped her stay on track to complete her LPN training at the end of March 2015.
Upon passing the national credentialing exam (NCLEX-PN) Sagal secured a position as an LPN, working 32 hours a week, earning $27.40 hourly at a rehabilitation center. Her passion for healthcare and her family left her wanting more. She told her Navigator she wanted to become a registered nurse (RN).
As HPOG 2.0 began, Sagal continued to work with her Navigator. She joined Health Workforce for the Future (HWF) and was accepted to the LPN-to-RN ladder program at Highline College in August 2016. In June 2017, Sagal graduated with her associates degree in nursing (ADN). She gained her national certification and state license and began full-time work as a registered nurse in September of that year, earning $39/hour. She is now enjoying the fruits of her sacrifice and hard work, earning competitive wages with medical and dental benefits for her and her family.
Sagal’s journey isn’t over. She plans to apply to the part-time RN-to BSN (Bachelor of Science in Nursing) program at the University of Washington (UW-Bothell Campus), and she maintains a final career goal of becoming an advanced registered nurse practitioner (ARNP).
“I would love to motivate others who are in the same shoes as I was some years ago. I want to make them understand that hard work pays off, and to persevere and believe. Also, I have always been a good student and have been able to achieve the goals that I set for myself. My children look up to me as a role model, and their grades at school reflect that. I want to be an exemplary person for my children so that they too can achieve their goals.”
Files
- PDF HPOG Sagal at Workforce Development Council (129.30 KB)