The following student testimonial is the fifth in our series of stories of how our students are adjusting to remote learning during these challenging times...

MEET TATYANNA SANTOS-MCNEILL
Current Student in the TRA-Worcester YouthBuild Nursing Assistant Training Track

“Working from home has been a challenge. A challenge of staying on task while reading a paragraph and thinking about what you're reading and not thinking about what am I going to make for lunch for the kids, or what I'm going to make for dinner later, or the fact that I have to go mop the kitchen floor, or today is trash night, let me go do the trash."

"Being home and being a single mom is a lot! Because of the 9:30 am Zoom meetings with YouthBuild [I am reminded] that I'm not alone. And [the YouthBuild Zoom calls] remind me that I'm a part of something bigger than us and anything that's going on in my life. And anything that I may feel negatively [about], they brighten it up and they push me to keep fighting and pushing forward. And sometimes I just want to quit and just throw in the towel, but they won't let me. And [support] is something that a lot of people don't get and I love having the support! I love feeling like I'm part of a family and it makes me feel secure and makes me feel like I can do this. I can wake up and do my Zoom meeting and [figure out] how to pass in my work on time and still be a mom! I hope I become a great role model. I hope I become one of [TRA Worcester YouthBuild’s] great success stories. And I just hope everything that's happened this year just ends up worth it in the end. I'm going to strive to see that it does!”

Thanks for sharing your thoughts, Tatyanna! All of us at TRA will do everything we can to help you on your Worcester YouthBuild journey. We look forward to posting your success story! And thanks to the Worcester YouthBuild staff for all your hard work and keeping our students on track!