Amanda White of La Grange was working as a kennel technician making $10.50 an hour when she chose to follow her dream of becoming a radiographer and enrolled into the Radiography program at Lenoir Community College in 2019. Shortly after starting the program, she was referred to the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) Adult Program. 

The WIOA program, through the NCWorks Career Center, was established to assist adults and dislocated workers in retraining and obtaining employment and it offers a mix of employment, training, and job placement services. Participants may access individual training accounts to assist with tuition, fees, books, supplies, and accident insurance.

“While the academic aspect of school and clinical work came easily for me, there was always a secondary challenge to overcome,” White said. 

Two weeks into the program, she was faced with a health scare that kept her from attending the first week of clinicals, while also having to stay on top of class work and preparing for the first exam. A year later, she lost her biggest supporter, her grandfather. 

“My grandfather was one of the people most excited about my academic achievements, he would not want his passing to negatively impact my education, and for that, I kept pushing.” 

After overcoming what White hoped would be her last hurdle, COVID-19 changed how she would finish her education in the Radiography program. With altered clinical restrictions, classroom settings, and overall schedule changes with school and home life, she found it hard to stay focused and to finish out her education strong. 

“The uncertainty about so many things made it difficult to stay focused, but I was too close to the finish line to take my eyes off of it.”

Despite the hardships 2020 brought, White finished with a 4.0 grade point average as she had done every semester throughout the program. She graduated with an Associate in Applied Science degree in Radiography with Phi Theta Kappa Honors and High Honors. She told her WIOA case worker that she had the highest score in the state on the North Carolina Society of Radiologic Technologists (NCSRT) Mock Registry.

With the assistance of the WIOA program, she was able to pay for the American Registry of Radiologic Technologists (ARRT) exam making a 97% score. Shortly after, she accepted a part-time position as a PRN Radiologic Technologist with National Mobile X-Ray. She travels to nursing homes to perform x-rays, EKGs, and bone density exams on residents. In the beginning, she worked 12 hours a week as an on-call employee due to COVID-19 nursing home restrictions. In November 2020, she was promoted to a full-time employee making $20 an hour 

“The resources and financial assistance I received from WIOA allowed me to fully focus on obtaining my degree, the program was invaluable to me during my time in school.” 

For more information on the WIOA Program, contact Samara Taft, Director of WIOA Title I Programs/ NCWorks Career Center Manager, at sltaft27@lenoircc.edu or (252) 527-6223, ext. 111.