Nicole Sekelsky owes the last two years of her life to RISE NEPA.
Sekelsky was in the middle of a separation from her husband. Her grandmother, who she described as “her rock,” passed away. She’s a mother of four and, at the time, was being kicked out of her house. On top of everything, she was scheduled for surgery and working a $12-an-hour-job.
Then while browsing Facebook, she saw an ad for RISE NEPA.
"I would never have completed anything that I have accomplished ... without them," she said.
RISE is a partnership between the William G. McGowan Charitable Fund, Johnson College, United Neighborhood Centers (UNC) and The Institute. It was created to help individuals earn careers while providing supports to help them succeed. The organizations work to remove barriers by providing transportation and helping with housing and childcare, among other services.
Sekelsky was a member of the first RISE class, which began in January 2022 and graduated the following September. She’s now a certified medical assistant and clinical billing and coding specialist.
"Everything just kind of worked out," she said.
Liz Finley is the program director from the McGowan Foundation.
“We want to create long term solutions for all of our students," she said. "We want to see them find a career and really dig in and thrive in that career."
The program is open to residents of Lackawanna and Luzerne counties who are at least 18 years old and have a GED or high school diploma. They offer various career tracks, including: building & property maintenance, diesel preventative maintenance, welding technology and industrial technology; and three continuing education programs, including: clinical medical assistant, computer support specialist and administrative medical professional.
The Institute narrowed down the career tracks.
"They found through their reporting, that these have strong demand right in our region, and they have great potential for growth," said Finley.
UNC’s goal as a RISE partner is to help remove barriers that might prevent someone from completing the program, said Teri Lynn Bretchel, director of community education. They conduct a needs assessment and look at every aspect of the student’s life. They also take into consideration the experiences that people have had in their life and recognize that those contribute to how they make decisions and set goals.
“We understand that if individuals are struggling to to meet their basic needs or are focused on basic necessities, it's really hard to put your energy into something like this,” said Bretchel.
RISE sets itself apart from other workforce development programs because it takes a person-centered and trauma-informed approach, she said. Working adults often have been out of school for a long time and are balancing many things like housing and taking care of their families.
They learn executive skills like organizing, planning and time management, and have one-on-one coaching sessions.
“These are skills that everyone innately has and there's some that we maybe struggle with," said Bretchel. "So it's learning about your strengths and your struggles.”
When Sekelsky, a Dickson City resident, was learning about the executive skills during RISE, she thought "I got this." She was a retail manager for 20 years.
“I walked into a medical clinic where they give you 33 jobs that you have to do in an eight hour time span," she said, "and you're like 'alright Teri Lynn, where's those executive skills?'”
She said her portion of the clinic now runs smoothly because of everything she learned during RISE.
The second cohort is studying currently and set to graduate in May. The organization is actively enrolling its third class, which will start this summer. There are 30 spots available.
The program is intensive. Students dedicate about 30 to 40 hours a week to the program over 10 months. They attend Johnson College classes and graduate with either an academic or technical certificate in their field from the college.
For more details, visit risenepa.org.
