Persistent Pursuit of Her Goals Pays Off
Chris was born and raised in New Ulm. She is the youngest of 3 sisters. As a child and young adult, she was always very shy and hard-working. She was taught to always try to be kind and to be true to one’s self.
In her early twenties, she met and married the man with whom she intended to spend the rest of her life. After several years of marriage, he began to change. He became very distant, often being gone from home without explanation. Finally, Chris found some letters that confirmed her worst fear. Her spouse was having an affair.
The two separated for a few years and finally divorced. Chris says this was a very dark period for her. She finally sought help and was diagnosed with depression. She worked hard to try to battle back from her pain. She landed a great job and things began to look a bit hopeful for her.
As the company Chris worked for began to decline, she was let go. Eventually, the company went out of business. It was at this point that Chris came to LWPC for the first time. She attended some of the workshops and realized she could use some work on her self-esteem. Chris took a new position that allowed her to use her office bookkeeping skills shortly thereafter. Chris worked with this company for an extended period.
Unfortunately, some internal changes were made and Chris was relieved of her duties at this organization. She felt very singled-out and defeated.
Once again Chris returned to Life-Work Planning Center as she remembered the help it had offered her years before. Chris says she knew she had more work to do on her self-esteem and on her ability to be assertive. Chris states that she was too proud to ask for help and she is very glad she finally did so!
Chris attended the weekly workshops regularly. She worked with the New Ulm Work-force Center staff. She had many one-to-one peer counseling sessions with Life-Work Planning Center staff. She worked on cover-letter writing, and her resume. She continued to volunteer in the community and tried to stay active and positive. She knew that physically office work would be best for her. Chris really wanted to stay in New Ulm, a community she loves. She needed to work full-time to earn enough to make her monthly mortgage payment. Keeping her house was a real value for Chris.
Chris says the pre-employment services offered at Life-Work Planning Center helped her realize that she was not alone. She says, “Seeing others learning to re-create their self-esteem helped me know that I could do it too.” Chris leaned on her new support system, kept her faith and relied on her family and friends.
After a long, exhaustive 20-month job search, Chris is happy to share that she is working full-time at a local bank as a Customer Service Representative! She is also doing seasonal tax work with a local accountant. Chris is using her bookkeeping skills and is able to be in an office-like environment.
Chris really wants others to know that it is important to “Surround yourself with support, network with others and be persistent in your search! It is very important to stay true to yourself and to always go for your dream!”
