Linda Smith
Adult ITA Program

No Regrets-Its Never Too Late To Go Back and Change Your Life's Course
Linda Smith always wanted a career that could challenge her and in which she could continue to grow. Her only problem was that the career that she wanted was a completely male-dominated field of work. In 1981, Smith started electrical courses in high school but soon dropped out because of lack of support from her peers and instructors. Says Smith, "I settled for something that I believed was a proper career for a young lady." She spent the next several years wishing she hadn't settled for less.

Mobile Works' Individual Training Scholarship Program provided Smith with the second chance in life to not only pursue the career she had originally desired in 1981, but it has also given her the opportunity to earn a good living and thus save for a comfortable retirement. Smith strongly believes that the opportunity for her to return to school was not possible without Mobile Works and the Individual Training Scholarship Program.

"I never would have been able to afford school on my salary. The job I had barely afforded me the opportunity to get by," says Smith, "Sometimes you don't get a lot of chances in life to do what you want. One day you're 18 and thinking you have all the time in the world and then you turn around one day and you're 40. You realize that the career you fell into is not only something that you can't stand, but that it will in no way pay for the kind of retirement you want. But one day something called Mobile Works enters your life and suddenly you get the opportunity to change everything!"

Smith believes that Mobile Works also provided something else for her. She says, "Just the fact that Mobile Works was willing to pay for me to go back to school meant to me that they believed in me. Unlike the people in 1981, the people at Mobile Works believed that I had what it takes to be a success. That means just as much as the monetary support that Mobile Works provided. My representative, Ms. Brenda Bright, always made sure that I stayed on track and gave me the words of encouragement I needed."

Bright states, "Linda Smith is a fine example of what a person can do with their lives if they set a goal and are motivated to achieve it no matter what challenges are in their path. Linda has certainly moved mountains to achieve hers and I'm very proud of her."

Smith was so motivated by the support and encouragement provided by Brenda Bright and Mobile Works that she wanted to show them that their faith in her was not misplaced. She gave every single class her best, graduating in May 2005 with a certificate in Electrical Technology and grades that were straight A's across the board. On May 13, 2005, Smith started work for Gulf States Electrical Contractors and says, "I now have a career that I enjoy and a future, and an employer that believes in me as much as Mobile Works. Thank you!" At Mobile Works, we want to say thank you to Linda Smith for proving that the Individual Training Scholarship Program has the power to change lives if the scholarship recipient has the will to do it.

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