October 3, 2025 • 34 mins
What if your first diploma isn’t an ending, but the start of everything you hoped a career could be? We dive into the real work of turning ambition into action—setting goals that point past a paycheck, finding the specialty that fits, and building a support system that shows up when life gets loud.
Marie Aveline, Program Chair for Ross’s Medical Assistant Program, breaks down how early goal-setting and “sampling” different clinical areas help students discover where they thrive. She lifts the curtain on the culture her team protects: instructors who are approachable, honest about what they don’t know, and willing to meet students whenever they need help.
Kay’s story is the pulse of the episode. From homelessness and losing everything in storage to landing her first MA role and stepping into an instructor position, she shows how purpose fuels persistence. A patient’s smile became her turning point; a network of mentors turned setbacks into steps.
We explore how to shift from “I graduated” to “I’m growing”—stacking micro-credentials, embracing continuing education, and seeing healthcare as a lifetime of learning. Expect practical takeaways: build a simple roadmap, assemble a small support bench, and commit to consistent, one-hour blocks that compound into confidence. If plan A fails, go to plan B through Z; momentum beats perfection.
Subscribe, share this episode with someone who needs a nudge, and leave a review with your next small step. Let’s keep making the leap—together.
We’d love to hear from! Send us a message or topic idea.
Stay up to date on Make the Leap by following us on our website, rosspodcast.com, Facebook and LinkedIn.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Andy (00:06):
Welcome back to Make the Leap, the official Ross College
podcast.
Today, we explore how to turnyour ambition into action and
your enrollment into a launchpad for your future.
I'm your host, Andy Kephart,and you're tuning in to season
three, episode two, persistingand thriving after graduation.
In today's episode, we'retaking a full circle look at
(00:30):
what it means to not onlyfinish, but to flourish after
Ross.
We're going to dive into thepower of early career goal
setting, staying anchored toyour why, why we could all use a
support system, and how thatfirst diploma can be a stepping
stone, not a stopping point.
We've got two amazing guestswith us today.
(00:51):
First, Kay, a proud Rossgraduate, who is now paying it
forward as our newest secondaryinstructor at the Sylvania
campus.
We're also joined by MarieAvaline, program chair for the
Medical Assistant Program, whohas helped hundreds of students
cross the finish line andbeyond.
Let's jump in with KristenBeale.
Kristen (01:14):
Hi Andy, thanks for joining us, okay and Marie.
Thank you for having us.
Good.
Well, let's start with the endin mind first.
And Marie, let's begin withyou.
When students first walk intoyour program, how important is
it that they're already thinkingabout their end goal, for
(01:35):
example?
Marie (01:37):
It is critical for them to understand the end goal.
Um, we encourage everyinstructor, every campus, to
explain to the students thatwhat they're working toward is a
career and not a job.
That there is a differencebetween getting up and going to
(02:00):
a job every day to earn apaycheck, and getting up and
starting a career that they'regoing to learn and they're going
to grow and they're going tomake a difference in somebody's
life every single day just byshowing up and having the skills
(02:21):
that they need to make thatdifference in every patient's
life through a smile, throughjust being that person that the
patient knows that they cancount on to help them through
whatever struggle they'rethey're dealing with.
Kristen (02:38):
In fact, Marie, what kind of goals do successful
students tend to set right fromthe beginning?
Have you noticed anything likethat?
Marie (02:48):
It's kind of a double-edged sword.
A lot of our students come inand they feel like they need to
learn everything about everytopic that we introduce them to.
Sometimes it causes a littlebit of frustration because, with
(03:09):
it being an acceleratedprogram, we're introducing a lot
of information to them in ashort amount of time.
And so sometimes it's necessaryfor us to tell them we give you
a little bit of informationabout a lot of different topics,
and then we encourage you to,when you get out in the field
(03:33):
through your extern site orbeyond your extern site, figure
out where your passion is,whether it's pediatrics, whether
it's family medicine,cardiology, then you take the
skills that we've taught you andyou hone them in the specialty
that you thrive in.
So we just we want them to geta small taste of a little bit of
(04:04):
every field when they're in ourprogram and just kind of get a
feel for what they're lookingfor when they get out in the
field, and then they canexperience it a little bit in
their extern site, and thenchoose their career path.
A lot of times we get ourstudents coming back to us to
(04:29):
give back our new students whatwe gave to them, and that's what
Kay has done, and I love that.
Those make our some of our bestinstructors our former
students.
Kristen (04:42):
Oh, I love that you tied in sampling a little bit
of knowledge to plan what it isthat you want in the future,
after at maybe at externship forexample.
And Kay, that is a greattransition for me to you.
If you would, can you rememberyour first admissions
(05:04):
appointment at Ross?
What kind of career goals didyou walk in with?
Kay (05:09):
Um, at first, when when I decided to go back to school, I
wanted to do the MIBOA, but themore I kept, you know, looking
more into the program, Irealized I'm more passionate
about helping others.
And once they offer the medicalassist the program, I said,
(05:31):
okay, this is what I want to do.
It's in the healthcare field,and I can actually, you know,
help others.
And also while I'm helpingothers, I'm also learning more
about you know different thingsthat I could do while working in
healthcare.
Kristen (05:46):
Oh, yeah.
When did it really click foryou?
Maybe that your education wasmore than just like a job thing,
that it was about your future.
Did it was there a point whereit kind of clicked?
Kay (05:58):
Well, I would say it clicked once after I joined the
program and I graduated and Igot my first job as a medical
assistant.
I said, I love this.
Like, there's no, there'snothing else that I wanted to do
besides working as a medicalassistant.
(06:18):
And I would say it clicked oncethe moment when I called the
patient back, and she and Ismile and they smile back.
I said, Yes.
I love when a patient smiles atme.
Oh my gosh, what a greatconnection.
Kristen (06:34):
And I love it.
You know, we started out withthe end in mind, you know, kind
of planning for what kind ofcareer that you want, where you
see yourself working, and and inmany cases, that starts out
first in the missionsdepartment, and then it seems
like it evolves as you gain moreknowledge and more work
experience in the field.
And I want to talk now aboutthe motivation and the
(06:57):
persistence that has to occur inthe middle of your of your
experience at Ross.
And anybody who's been throughit knows that school is
definitely not always smoothsailing.
You know, there's highs andthere's lows.
So, Kay, what helped you staymotivated when life got tough?
Like, was there a time that youalmost gave up?
Kay (07:21):
Um, yes, it was a time I wanted to give up to be.
I'm not trying to cry.
It's okay, me too.
Um, I was actually homeless.
I was homeless going from placeto place.
And I'm not gonna lie, at firstI thought about just giving up
(07:43):
everything, but then I'm like,you know what?
Something I can have my kids,but once Marie reached out, and
I'm like, people do care.
So once Marie reached out, Idid vent to her because I needed
somebody to come to.
Sure.
And she she sat there, shelistened, and when she listened,
(08:07):
I said, okay, you know what?
I see somebody as she wants tosee me, you know, do good in
life.
And that's when I considerMarie not just a tutor, but a
friend.
Because she took time out ofher day to help me.
When I said I wanted to give upon everything, yeah.
(08:28):
But with Marie, she was she wasthere.
She was like, if you needanybody to talk to, you can give
me a call.
And I called her when I'mreally upset, and then it just,
you know, then she startedhelping me out, you know, catch
up on my assignments because Iwas falling behind.
Like I said, I was homeless.
And so Marie had me to taketime out, you know, like at
(08:52):
least an hour, you know, to sitdown, relax.
I work with her, and once Isubmit something and I see I can
say, Congratulations, yousubmitted it.
And just seeing like theconfetti and stuff, I said,
okay, this this feels reallygood.
And then I started going moreand more, and then that's when,
(09:14):
you know, just talking to Mariewhile I was homeless, and then I
started doing the like workinganother job and getting my own
place, and you know, Marie hasbeen has really been there for
me.
That's when I when I say Iwanted to give up on all, you
know, Marie and my kids.
Kristen (09:33):
Well, Marie, from an instructor's side, what do you
notice about students whopersist through these struggles
or versus those who justcontinue to struggle?
What do you notice about theirspirit or their their attitude?
Marie (09:52):
Um from the very first time that I talked to Kay on the
phone, you could hear thepassion, the willingness.
She wanted to learn.
Um it it took me less than 10minutes on the phone with her to
(10:19):
know that all I needed to dowas encourage, encourage her.
She had the drive.
She wasn't asking me to, well,just do it for me, or I can't do
(10:40):
this, or you know, she wantedto learn, she wanted to know.
Um, and it was just a matter offiguring out how to explain it
in a way that made sense to her,and keeping her motivated,
yeah, you know, and at the endof every session, we would, I
(11:05):
would say, okay, before our nextsession, try to get this done,
and it never failed, no matterwhat she was going through, she
always had it done, and shealways had a smile on her face,
and I I wish she had her cameraturned on.
(11:26):
She has got the most infectioussmile of anybody I've ever met.
You cannot look at her whenshe's smiling and not put a
smile on your on her face.
She has got the best smileever.
And any student who can facelife challenges and still find
(11:55):
it in themselves to have apositive outlook and to be
willing to make those calls tome or to any other instructor
and say, okay, I'm ready towork, you know, let's get
through these assignments, orthis is what I'm struggling with
this week.
(12:16):
And I don't even care ifthey're calling because they're
struggling with an assignment.
If they're calling becausethey're struggling with a life
problem and it's creating abarrier for them to complete
their work, I'm more than happyto listen and talk to talk them
(12:37):
through it.
You know, but it's the studentswho the more challenging
students who call you and say,well, I'm struggling with this
and I can't do it, and it justdoesn't make sense, and they are
not willing to try.
Kristen (12:54):
Oh, gotcha.
Marie (12:55):
Those students break my heart.
Yeah, they break my heartbecause we want every student to
succeed, and we will work withthem and work with them and work
for with them and tryeverything that we can think to
figure out why they have thatbarrier.
(13:18):
Yeah, most of the time we canget through to them.
I hate it, I take it personallyevery time we lose a student,
but I love the success stories.
I when I became the programchair and I had to take a step
back from teaching, it it washeartbreaking for me because
(13:43):
that's my passion.
And I always tell leadership, II love that I still get to
interact with students and dothe tutoring part because of
students like Kay or like Takiaor you know, other students
that I've I've gotten theopportunity to help.
(14:06):
Um they center me.
Kristen (14:10):
And and you had talked about some of the things that
you had done and how you hadhelped Kay, but what are some
things that you and your team doto keep students going when
their motivation starts to divea little bit or slip a little
bit?
I you I heard tutoring andphone calls asking for help.
Um what are some things thatyou and your team do?
Marie (14:34):
Some things that my team and I do to help students when
their motivation takes a dive orthey run into obstacles, are we
encourage them to reach out tous anytime.
I have the most amazinginstructors on my team who go
(14:55):
above and beyond every singleday to keep their students on
track.
They will meet them any time ofthe day or night.
I have instructors who havebeen known to get up at one, two
o'clock in the morning ifthat's what time a student needs
(15:16):
to work with them.
Um I have instructors who willrearrange their entire schedule
to accommodate a student so thatthe students always feel like
they're supported and they'reimportant, and they go beyond
just helping them with theirhomework or helping them
(15:39):
understand an assignment, theyhelp them feel important, they
help them feel valued.
Um, and sometimes that's all ittakes to get a student back on
track.
They may have never gotten thatbefore in their life, and so
having somebody that makes themfeel like they're worth the
(16:02):
effort is a lot of times all ittakes to get their motivation
back on track and get themrefocused on the end goal.
Kristen (16:13):
Hey Kay, you you had talked about how you kind of
got back to like you started outlooking at my boa, but knew
that your your own spirit reallywas it was more important to
help others and get you back toyour why.
But can you talk aboutadditional things maybe that
(16:33):
instructors or even classmatesmight have done that made a
difference for you and yourexperience when maybe when your
motivation was slipping too?
Kay (16:43):
Um well I I know when I had spoken to Marie, and okay, and
once I moved into my place, Imoved into my apartment, it was
a studio.
I went to get my stuff out ofstorage, can't get in contact
with nobody.
When they contacted me,realized I lost everything in
(17:07):
storage.
Clothes, shoes.
I when I say I lost everything,all I had was I made sure my
daughter had her clothes.
I had her clothes and I had afew scrubs.
I broke down in tears.
I called Marie and her and thefaculty faculty members at Ross.
(17:28):
They ended up actually, youknow, getting some clothes to
send to me.
Marie (17:36):
When I let other people at Ross know about Kay's
situation with losing herstorage unit and the fact that
she had lost everything that sheowned and had absolutely
nothing left except for theclothes that she was wearing.
(17:56):
Um, it didn't take very long touh get an action, a reaction
out of everybody.
And our human resourcesdepartment, especially Doreen
Kephart, she uh took it as apersonal calling and they
(18:18):
spearheaded a drive to gather upclothing and other items and
get this stuff shipped to Kay sothat uh she wasn't without the
things that she needed.
Um, and it it just speaks tothe culture that we have here at
(18:39):
Ross.
Um, and we truly do value notonly each other, but our
students as family.
Kay (18:49):
That really, really lifted me up because that really showed
me like, okay, they're doingthis, even though I'm a student,
but since I lost this, they'rehelping me, not just in school,
but actually outside of school.
That really touched me once Igot the box.
I said, Oh, this is this isfrom the school, and I that I
(19:13):
appreciated that.
Kristen (19:15):
Oh plus, I do agree with you that you're with Marie
when she was talking about yourkids see you succeed and see you
work hard and see you reap therewards of that, and you're
helping different kinds ofpeople now where you might have
been helping someone in amedical practice before.
Now you're helping students atRoss, so you're still fulfilling
(19:36):
your own personal mission,right?
Kay (19:38):
Yes, I am, and then my best friend, she was she did not
really know anything aboutmedical assistance, but when I
told her about the school that Ihad gone to, and then I was
telling her what we actually doas medical assistants, she
actually she went to school andshe graduated and she became a
(20:00):
medical assistant now.
And she said she loves itbecause she sees like the
passion that I have in thiscareer that I'm in.
Kristen (20:11):
Yes, that's did she have the similar experience with
the support from instructorsand things like that?
Kay (20:18):
Um, yes, she did, and you know, yeah, she did get support
from the instructor, but she shemainly did get support from me.
Um, you know, anytime she hadany questions, she no, she
called me.
Didn't care if it was two,three in the morning.
She would call me, text me, andI would answer it.
(20:38):
Like, you know, any questions II made sure I try to give her
the best answer that I could.
If I did not know, I would tellher I'm sorry.
I have no clue right now, but Iwill find out for you.
I love it.
Thank you.
Andy (20:57):
I don't work much on the student-facing side of things at
Ross.
I work in IT, but hearingthese stories on our previous
episode, we talked to Keisha,who's also a Ross graduate, now
working at Ross in admissions.
You know, you have somesimilarities in your stories,
and it really amazes me how muchsome of these stories come down
(21:18):
to just finding that one personto start building your support
system with.
And then once you have the ballrolling, it's easier, I think,
to incorporate or accept helpfrom more people.
Kristen (21:31):
And then it fills your cup up so you can give to the
now yourself, too.
I love that.
Well, let's talk aboutgraduation because Marie said
she's not she's coming to yourgraduation because she's gonna
watch you at your ace HCA degreewalk across the stage.
Now we know that that is a hugemilestone, and yes, but we also
(21:54):
know it's not the finaldestination, it's more like kind
of like a launching point.
So, okay, how did you shiftyour mindset from yay, I
graduated to uh now I'm buildingmy future?
Kay (22:07):
Um, once I graduated and just the feeling that I I had
achieved something that not nottrying to be trying to be funny,
but you don't really see a lotof you know, a lot of women my
age, which I'm not old old, butI'm close to 40 that would go
(22:30):
back to school.
So with me going back to schoolat my age, actually show people
that no matter what age youare, if you got that passion to
learn, then yeah, do it.
Kristen (22:44):
Mm-hmm.
Oh yeah.
In fact, tell me a little bitabout so it's when did you
graduate and when did you end upbecoming an instructor?
How did that all transpire?
Kay (22:58):
I had graduated in with my associates of applied science
and medical assistant.
Um, I walked across the stagein April of this year.
Kristen (23:06):
Very good.
Congratulations.
Kay (23:08):
Thank you.
So after because at the time Iwas currently a medical
assistant at another job.
So I'm like, you know what?
I'm going to school.
Let me just see if they'rehiring.
So soon as I go on indeed, Iactually get a message from Beth
stating that she saw my thatshe was looking at my resume and
(23:32):
see that I am a good fit.
And I say, yes, just what Iwant to do.
Kristen (23:38):
Oh yeah.
In fact, do you use that storyin your class in the class about
how to inspire other studentsin your that you're instructing?
Kay (23:47):
Well, I'm actually new there.
I'm still in training, but acouple of people, a couple of
students, they do ask me, youknow, you know, how long has it
been since I graduated?
And once I tell them in April,and then they like, what school
did you go to?
I said, I actually went toRoth.
They've like, you went to Ross?
I said, Yes, I just graduatedfrom here.
(24:11):
So I understand exactly whatyou guys are, you know, what you
guys are going through.
Kristen (24:17):
Oh yeah.
Now, Marie, sit while you'rewhile they're in school, what
would you say to students whothink graduation is just like
the end of the road?
How do you encourage them tokeep growing professionally?
Marie (24:32):
I have said to more students than I can count that
if they're choosing a career inthe medical field, they need to
be passionate about a lifetimeof learning.
Um, there is no such thing asbeing done with learning in
healthcare because it changesall the time.
(24:54):
And I tell our instructors thatthey have now chosen the two
fastest growing or the twofastest changing fields to work
in with education andhealthcare.
Um, and so I just tell themthis is this is a starting
(25:17):
point.
Even if they only get to theirRMA certification, they will
still have continuing educationfor their certification.
unknown (25:29):
Right?
Marie (25:30):
But there are so many opportunities out there for them
to, even if it's just amicro-credential, for them to
earn.
Um, but you know, if if they'vegot bigger aspirations to go on
and get, you know, theirbachelor's, their master's,
(25:51):
their, you know, their doctoratedegrees, those opportunities
are out there.
And getting this first pieceunder their belt is a great way
because we do have a lot ofstudents at Ross who've come
back after they've been out ofhow high school for a while, or
(26:14):
they're afraid when they comeback that they've forgotten how
to learn or they've forgottenhow to study.
Um so it's it's a great firststep for them to realize that
yeah, I I can do this again.
Um, it it's not as scary as Ithought it was.
Kristen (26:34):
So yeah, I think they have a lot of real life
experience that brings a lot tothe role, so that kind of keeps
you in as well as your learningtextbook kind of knowledge, then
getting your clinical skillscertified, and then bringing all
that together and into futuresuccesses, incredible.
(26:56):
You'll really want to pointthat out to everybody as well.
Like it, this is just the goingstarting school and thinking
you can't do it is one way tobuild your confidence, but also
a way to increase youremployability and then increase
your knowledge to get to thenext level.
So, Marie, how do you createthat kind of environment where a
(27:19):
student feels heard and seenand supported and believed in?
Is it is it office hours?
Is it conversation in theclass?
How do you make that?
Marie (27:30):
It's just about approachability.
Um, it's about not standing infront of your classroom and
talking at them, but talking tothem, giving them the
opportunity to ask questions,being open and honest with the
(27:50):
students, even if it's during alecture, you know, I will tell
students, hmm, I didn't go tomedical school, I will never
pretend to have all of theanswers.
I tell instructors that nowwhen I talk to them, I'll never
pretend to have all of theanswers.
But if you ask me a questionand I don't know the answer to
it, I'm happy to be frustratedwith you until we both figure
(28:14):
out the answer together.
You know, and and I will tellstudents anytime I talk to them,
and I encourage instructors totell students, you can reach out
to me about anything I want tohear from you.
If you have concerns,questions, complaints, thoughts,
(28:37):
ideas, suggestions.
I'm here.
I'm here.
That's my role, that's what Iwant from you.
Because I can't make thisbetter for you if you don't
communicate with me what youneed.
Um, and every instructor thatwe have needs to portray that
(29:03):
that same willingness to be openand approachable by the
students.
You know, we we have ourguidelines, we have our
processes, but we still have tobe that person for our
students, that they feelcomfortable saying, hey, Mrs.
(29:25):
K, you know, can can I talk toyou after class and know that
they can talk, that that's asfar as it's gonna go, and
they're safe, and that even ifshe doesn't have the answers at
that particular moment, she'sgonna be frustrated with them
(29:47):
until she figures out theanswers to their questions, you
know.
Um, and just not being, Iguess, overly assertive and And
saying, well, I have all theanswers and giving them an
answer that is wrong.
Yeah.
Yep.
In favor of being real.
unknown (30:12):
Yeah.
Kristen (30:13):
I'm with you.
Marie (30:14):
I'm with you.
I told I told George the lasttime I talked to him that in my
opinion, Kay needs to be theposter child of his vision.
Um I just she is sheencompasses his vision.
You know, I my favorite thingabout him is that he believes
(30:37):
and he has led Ross in believingeveryone deserves an education.
And I love that.
I love that.
There are so many students atRoss who are here because they
wouldn't have gotten anopportunity for an education
anywhere else, and has given usthe ability to help them in ways
(31:05):
that other schools wouldn'thave helped them.
Um, and she she's a perfectexample of that.
She she won, she persevered,she did everything she was
supposed to do, and she allowedme to be a part of it, and I
(31:29):
will be eternally grateful toher for allowing me to have a
small role in that.
But I believe a hundredpercent that with or without me,
she would have perseveredbecause that's the kind of
person that she is.
Um and now she's giving itback, and that's coming full
(31:50):
circle, in my opinion.
Um, she she is exactly the kindof person that I feel like is
his vision of who and what Rossis.
Kristen (32:04):
Oh, yeah.
All right, I'll ask Kay firstand then Marie.
But what's your one piece ofadvice for a student who wants
to not just graduate but thriveafterwards?
Kay (32:20):
How do I put this?
I would say, like, if that isyour dream, then go after your
dream.
Don't let nobody stop you.
Do not let nothing get in yourway.
And also remember, if plan Adoes not work, then just know
you got plan B, plan Z, all theway to double Z.
Kristen (32:40):
I love it.
How about you, Marie?
If a student was needed someadvice who wants to not just
graduate but thrive.
Marie (32:49):
My best advice is seize the day, keep your eyes open,
keep your ears open, and seizeevery opportunity that comes
your way.
Kristen (33:01):
I love it.
Oh, I'll add my piece ofadvice.
Remember that your current thecareer you dream of starts with
just small, consistent steps,and really your first diploma,
as Kay just showed us, is justthe beginning.
It's only the beginning.
Andy (33:20):
Thanks for joining us on Make the Leap.
A big thank you to our guests,Kay and Marie, for their
passion, perspective, and forbeing such powerful examples of
what persistence and purpose canlead to.
Kay (33:33):
Thank you for having us.
Andy (33:34):
If today's conversation inspired you, share this episode
with a classmate or colleague.
And don't forget to subscribeso you never miss the next leap
forward.
Until then, stay motivated,stay focused, and most of all,
keep making the leap.
Welcome back to Make the Leap, the official Ross College
podcast.
Today, we explore how to turnyour ambition into action and
your enrollment into a launchpad for your future.
I'm your host, Andy Kephart,and you're tuning in to season
three, episode two, persistingand thriving after graduation.
In today's episode, we'retaking a full circle look at
(00:30):
what it means to not onlyfinish, but to flourish after
Ross.
We're going to dive into thepower of early career goal
setting, staying anchored toyour why, why we could all use a
support system, and how thatfirst diploma can be a stepping
stone, not a stopping point.
We've got two amazing guestswith us today.
(00:51):
First, Kay, a proud Rossgraduate, who is now paying it
forward as our newest secondaryinstructor at the Sylvania
campus.
We're also joined by MarieAvaline, program chair for the
Medical Assistant Program, whohas helped hundreds of students
cross the finish line andbeyond.
Let's jump in with KristenBeale.
Kristen (01:14):
Hi Andy, thanks for joining us, okay and Marie.
Thank you for having us.
Good.
Well, let's start with the endin mind first.
And Marie, let's begin withyou.
When students first walk intoyour program, how important is
it that they're already thinkingabout their end goal, for
(01:35):
example?
Marie (01:37):
It is critical for them to understand the end goal.
Um, we encourage everyinstructor, every campus, to
explain to the students thatwhat they're working toward is a
career and not a job.
That there is a differencebetween getting up and going to
(02:00):
a job every day to earn apaycheck, and getting up and
starting a career that they'regoing to learn and they're going
to grow and they're going tomake a difference in somebody's
life every single day just byshowing up and having the skills
(02:21):
that they need to make thatdifference in every patient's
life through a smile, throughjust being that person that the
patient knows that they cancount on to help them through
whatever struggle they'rethey're dealing with.
Kristen (02:38):
In fact, Marie, what kind of goals do successful
students tend to set right fromthe beginning?
Have you noticed anything likethat?
Marie (02:48):
It's kind of a double-edged sword.
A lot of our students come inand they feel like they need to
learn everything about everytopic that we introduce them to.
Sometimes it causes a littlebit of frustration because, with
(03:09):
it being an acceleratedprogram, we're introducing a lot
of information to them in ashort amount of time.
And so sometimes it's necessaryfor us to tell them we give you
a little bit of informationabout a lot of different topics,
and then we encourage you to,when you get out in the field
(03:33):
through your extern site orbeyond your extern site, figure
out where your passion is,whether it's pediatrics, whether
it's family medicine,cardiology, then you take the
skills that we've taught you andyou hone them in the specialty
that you thrive in.
So we just we want them to geta small taste of a little bit of
(04:04):
every field when they're in ourprogram and just kind of get a
feel for what they're lookingfor when they get out in the
field, and then they canexperience it a little bit in
their extern site, and thenchoose their career path.
A lot of times we get ourstudents coming back to us to
(04:29):
give back our new students whatwe gave to them, and that's what
Kay has done, and I love that.
Those make our some of our bestinstructors our former
students.
Kristen (04:42):
Oh, I love that you tied in sampling a little bit
of knowledge to plan what it isthat you want in the future,
after at maybe at externship forexample.
And Kay, that is a greattransition for me to you.
If you would, can you rememberyour first admissions
(05:04):
appointment at Ross?
What kind of career goals didyou walk in with?
Kay (05:09):
Um, at first, when when I decided to go back to school, I
wanted to do the MIBOA, but themore I kept, you know, looking
more into the program, Irealized I'm more passionate
about helping others.
And once they offer the medicalassist the program, I said,
(05:31):
okay, this is what I want to do.
It's in the healthcare field,and I can actually, you know,
help others.
And also while I'm helpingothers, I'm also learning more
about you know different thingsthat I could do while working in
healthcare.
Kristen (05:46):
Oh, yeah.
When did it really click foryou?
Maybe that your education wasmore than just like a job thing,
that it was about your future.
Did it was there a point whereit kind of clicked?
Kay (05:58):
Well, I would say it clicked once after I joined the
program and I graduated and Igot my first job as a medical
assistant.
I said, I love this.
Like, there's no, there'snothing else that I wanted to do
besides working as a medicalassistant.
(06:18):
And I would say it clicked oncethe moment when I called the
patient back, and she and Ismile and they smile back.
I said, Yes.
I love when a patient smiles atme.
Oh my gosh, what a greatconnection.
Kristen (06:34):
And I love it.
You know, we started out withthe end in mind, you know, kind
of planning for what kind ofcareer that you want, where you
see yourself working, and and inmany cases, that starts out
first in the missionsdepartment, and then it seems
like it evolves as you gain moreknowledge and more work
experience in the field.
And I want to talk now aboutthe motivation and the
(06:57):
persistence that has to occur inthe middle of your of your
experience at Ross.
And anybody who's been throughit knows that school is
definitely not always smoothsailing.
You know, there's highs andthere's lows.
So, Kay, what helped you staymotivated when life got tough?
Like, was there a time that youalmost gave up?
Kay (07:21):
Um, yes, it was a time I wanted to give up to be.
I'm not trying to cry.
It's okay, me too.
Um, I was actually homeless.
I was homeless going from placeto place.
And I'm not gonna lie, at firstI thought about just giving up
(07:43):
everything, but then I'm like,you know what?
Something I can have my kids,but once Marie reached out, and
I'm like, people do care.
So once Marie reached out, Idid vent to her because I needed
somebody to come to.
Sure.
And she she sat there, shelistened, and when she listened,
(08:07):
I said, okay, you know what?
I see somebody as she wants tosee me, you know, do good in
life.
And that's when I considerMarie not just a tutor, but a
friend.
Because she took time out ofher day to help me.
When I said I wanted to give upon everything, yeah.
(08:28):
But with Marie, she was she wasthere.
She was like, if you needanybody to talk to, you can give
me a call.
And I called her when I'mreally upset, and then it just,
you know, then she startedhelping me out, you know, catch
up on my assignments because Iwas falling behind.
Like I said, I was homeless.
And so Marie had me to taketime out, you know, like at
(08:52):
least an hour, you know, to sitdown, relax.
I work with her, and once Isubmit something and I see I can
say, Congratulations, yousubmitted it.
And just seeing like theconfetti and stuff, I said,
okay, this this feels reallygood.
And then I started going moreand more, and then that's when,
(09:14):
you know, just talking to Mariewhile I was homeless, and then I
started doing the like workinganother job and getting my own
place, and you know, Marie hasbeen has really been there for
me.
That's when I when I say Iwanted to give up on all, you
know, Marie and my kids.
Kristen (09:33):
Well, Marie, from an instructor's side, what do you
notice about students whopersist through these struggles
or versus those who justcontinue to struggle?
What do you notice about theirspirit or their their attitude?
Marie (09:52):
Um from the very first time that I talked to Kay on the
phone, you could hear thepassion, the willingness.
She wanted to learn.
Um it it took me less than 10minutes on the phone with her to
(10:19):
know that all I needed to dowas encourage, encourage her.
She had the drive.
She wasn't asking me to, well,just do it for me, or I can't do
(10:40):
this, or you know, she wantedto learn, she wanted to know.
Um, and it was just a matter offiguring out how to explain it
in a way that made sense to her,and keeping her motivated,
yeah, you know, and at the endof every session, we would, I
(11:05):
would say, okay, before our nextsession, try to get this done,
and it never failed, no matterwhat she was going through, she
always had it done, and shealways had a smile on her face,
and I I wish she had her cameraturned on.
(11:26):
She has got the most infectioussmile of anybody I've ever met.
You cannot look at her whenshe's smiling and not put a
smile on your on her face.
She has got the best smileever.
And any student who can facelife challenges and still find
(11:55):
it in themselves to have apositive outlook and to be
willing to make those calls tome or to any other instructor
and say, okay, I'm ready towork, you know, let's get
through these assignments, orthis is what I'm struggling with
this week.
(12:16):
And I don't even care ifthey're calling because they're
struggling with an assignment.
If they're calling becausethey're struggling with a life
problem and it's creating abarrier for them to complete
their work, I'm more than happyto listen and talk to talk them
(12:37):
through it.
You know, but it's the studentswho the more challenging
students who call you and say,well, I'm struggling with this
and I can't do it, and it justdoesn't make sense, and they are
not willing to try.
Kristen (12:54):
Oh, gotcha.
Marie (12:55):
Those students break my heart.
Yeah, they break my heartbecause we want every student to
succeed, and we will work withthem and work with them and work
for with them and tryeverything that we can think to
figure out why they have thatbarrier.
(13:18):
Yeah, most of the time we canget through to them.
I hate it, I take it personallyevery time we lose a student,
but I love the success stories.
I when I became the programchair and I had to take a step
back from teaching, it it washeartbreaking for me because
(13:43):
that's my passion.
And I always tell leadership, II love that I still get to
interact with students and dothe tutoring part because of
students like Kay or like Takiaor you know, other students
that I've I've gotten theopportunity to help.
(14:06):
Um they center me.
Kristen (14:10):
And and you had talked about some of the things that
you had done and how you hadhelped Kay, but what are some
things that you and your team doto keep students going when
their motivation starts to divea little bit or slip a little
bit?
I you I heard tutoring andphone calls asking for help.
Um what are some things thatyou and your team do?
Marie (14:34):
Some things that my team and I do to help students when
their motivation takes a dive orthey run into obstacles, are we
encourage them to reach out tous anytime.
I have the most amazinginstructors on my team who go
(14:55):
above and beyond every singleday to keep their students on
track.
They will meet them any time ofthe day or night.
I have instructors who havebeen known to get up at one, two
o'clock in the morning ifthat's what time a student needs
(15:16):
to work with them.
Um I have instructors who willrearrange their entire schedule
to accommodate a student so thatthe students always feel like
they're supported and they'reimportant, and they go beyond
just helping them with theirhomework or helping them
(15:39):
understand an assignment, theyhelp them feel important, they
help them feel valued.
Um, and sometimes that's all ittakes to get a student back on
track.
They may have never gotten thatbefore in their life, and so
having somebody that makes themfeel like they're worth the
(16:02):
effort is a lot of times all ittakes to get their motivation
back on track and get themrefocused on the end goal.
Kristen (16:13):
Hey Kay, you you had talked about how you kind of
got back to like you started outlooking at my boa, but knew
that your your own spirit reallywas it was more important to
help others and get you back toyour why.
But can you talk aboutadditional things maybe that
(16:33):
instructors or even classmatesmight have done that made a
difference for you and yourexperience when maybe when your
motivation was slipping too?
Kay (16:43):
Um well I I know when I had spoken to Marie, and okay, and
once I moved into my place, Imoved into my apartment, it was
a studio.
I went to get my stuff out ofstorage, can't get in contact
with nobody.
When they contacted me,realized I lost everything in
(17:07):
storage.
Clothes, shoes.
I when I say I lost everything,all I had was I made sure my
daughter had her clothes.
I had her clothes and I had afew scrubs.
I broke down in tears.
I called Marie and her and thefaculty faculty members at Ross.
(17:28):
They ended up actually, youknow, getting some clothes to
send to me.
Marie (17:36):
When I let other people at Ross know about Kay's
situation with losing herstorage unit and the fact that
she had lost everything that sheowned and had absolutely
nothing left except for theclothes that she was wearing.
(17:56):
Um, it didn't take very long touh get an action, a reaction
out of everybody.
And our human resourcesdepartment, especially Doreen
Kephart, she uh took it as apersonal calling and they
(18:18):
spearheaded a drive to gather upclothing and other items and
get this stuff shipped to Kay sothat uh she wasn't without the
things that she needed.
Um, and it it just speaks tothe culture that we have here at
(18:39):
Ross.
Um, and we truly do value notonly each other, but our
students as family.
Kay (18:49):
That really, really lifted me up because that really showed
me like, okay, they're doingthis, even though I'm a student,
but since I lost this, they'rehelping me, not just in school,
but actually outside of school.
That really touched me once Igot the box.
I said, Oh, this is this isfrom the school, and I that I
(19:13):
appreciated that.
Kristen (19:15):
Oh plus, I do agree with you that you're with Marie
when she was talking about yourkids see you succeed and see you
work hard and see you reap therewards of that, and you're
helping different kinds ofpeople now where you might have
been helping someone in amedical practice before.
Now you're helping students atRoss, so you're still fulfilling
(19:36):
your own personal mission,right?
Kay (19:38):
Yes, I am, and then my best friend, she was she did not
really know anything aboutmedical assistance, but when I
told her about the school that Ihad gone to, and then I was
telling her what we actually doas medical assistants, she
actually she went to school andshe graduated and she became a
(20:00):
medical assistant now.
And she said she loves itbecause she sees like the
passion that I have in thiscareer that I'm in.
Kristen (20:11):
Yes, that's did she have the similar experience with
the support from instructorsand things like that?
Kay (20:18):
Um, yes, she did, and you know, yeah, she did get support
from the instructor, but she shemainly did get support from me.
Um, you know, anytime she hadany questions, she no, she
called me.
Didn't care if it was two,three in the morning.
She would call me, text me, andI would answer it.
(20:38):
Like, you know, any questions II made sure I try to give her
the best answer that I could.
If I did not know, I would tellher I'm sorry.
I have no clue right now, but Iwill find out for you.
I love it.
Thank you.
Andy (20:57):
I don't work much on the student-facing side of things at
Ross.
I work in IT, but hearingthese stories on our previous
episode, we talked to Keisha,who's also a Ross graduate, now
working at Ross in admissions.
You know, you have somesimilarities in your stories,
and it really amazes me how muchsome of these stories come down
(21:18):
to just finding that one personto start building your support
system with.
And then once you have the ballrolling, it's easier, I think,
to incorporate or accept helpfrom more people.
Kristen (21:31):
And then it fills your cup up so you can give to the
now yourself, too.
I love that.
Well, let's talk aboutgraduation because Marie said
she's not she's coming to yourgraduation because she's gonna
watch you at your ace HCA degreewalk across the stage.
Now we know that that is a hugemilestone, and yes, but we also
(21:54):
know it's not the finaldestination, it's more like kind
of like a launching point.
So, okay, how did you shiftyour mindset from yay, I
graduated to uh now I'm buildingmy future?
Kay (22:07):
Um, once I graduated and just the feeling that I I had
achieved something that not nottrying to be trying to be funny,
but you don't really see a lotof you know, a lot of women my
age, which I'm not old old, butI'm close to 40 that would go
(22:30):
back to school.
So with me going back to schoolat my age, actually show people
that no matter what age youare, if you got that passion to
learn, then yeah, do it.
Kristen (22:44):
Mm-hmm.
Oh yeah.
In fact, tell me a little bitabout so it's when did you
graduate and when did you end upbecoming an instructor?
How did that all transpire?
Kay (22:58):
I had graduated in with my associates of applied science
and medical assistant.
Um, I walked across the stagein April of this year.
Kristen (23:06):
Very good.
Congratulations.
Kay (23:08):
Thank you.
So after because at the time Iwas currently a medical
assistant at another job.
So I'm like, you know what?
I'm going to school.
Let me just see if they'rehiring.
So soon as I go on indeed, Iactually get a message from Beth
stating that she saw my thatshe was looking at my resume and
(23:32):
see that I am a good fit.
And I say, yes, just what Iwant to do.
Kristen (23:38):
Oh yeah.
In fact, do you use that storyin your class in the class about
how to inspire other studentsin your that you're instructing?
Kay (23:47):
Well, I'm actually new there.
I'm still in training, but acouple of people, a couple of
students, they do ask me, youknow, you know, how long has it
been since I graduated?
And once I tell them in April,and then they like, what school
did you go to?
I said, I actually went toRoth.
They've like, you went to Ross?
I said, Yes, I just graduatedfrom here.
(24:11):
So I understand exactly whatyou guys are, you know, what you
guys are going through.
Kristen (24:17):
Oh yeah.
Now, Marie, sit while you'rewhile they're in school, what
would you say to students whothink graduation is just like
the end of the road?
How do you encourage them tokeep growing professionally?
Marie (24:32):
I have said to more students than I can count that
if they're choosing a career inthe medical field, they need to
be passionate about a lifetimeof learning.
Um, there is no such thing asbeing done with learning in
healthcare because it changesall the time.
(24:54):
And I tell our instructors thatthey have now chosen the two
fastest growing or the twofastest changing fields to work
in with education andhealthcare.
Um, and so I just tell themthis is this is a starting
(25:17):
point.
Even if they only get to theirRMA certification, they will
still have continuing educationfor their certification.
unknown (25:29):
Right?
Marie (25:30):
But there are so many opportunities out there for them
to, even if it's just amicro-credential, for them to
earn.
Um, but you know, if if they'vegot bigger aspirations to go on
and get, you know, theirbachelor's, their master's,
(25:51):
their, you know, their doctoratedegrees, those opportunities
are out there.
And getting this first pieceunder their belt is a great way
because we do have a lot ofstudents at Ross who've come
back after they've been out ofhow high school for a while, or
(26:14):
they're afraid when they comeback that they've forgotten how
to learn or they've forgottenhow to study.
Um so it's it's a great firststep for them to realize that
yeah, I I can do this again.
Um, it it's not as scary as Ithought it was.
Kristen (26:34):
So yeah, I think they have a lot of real life
experience that brings a lot tothe role, so that kind of keeps
you in as well as your learningtextbook kind of knowledge, then
getting your clinical skillscertified, and then bringing all
that together and into futuresuccesses, incredible.
(26:56):
You'll really want to pointthat out to everybody as well.
Like it, this is just the goingstarting school and thinking
you can't do it is one way tobuild your confidence, but also
a way to increase youremployability and then increase
your knowledge to get to thenext level.
So, Marie, how do you createthat kind of environment where a
(27:19):
student feels heard and seenand supported and believed in?
Is it is it office hours?
Is it conversation in theclass?
How do you make that?
Marie (27:30):
It's just about approachability.
Um, it's about not standing infront of your classroom and
talking at them, but talking tothem, giving them the
opportunity to ask questions,being open and honest with the
(27:50):
students, even if it's during alecture, you know, I will tell
students, hmm, I didn't go tomedical school, I will never
pretend to have all of theanswers.
I tell instructors that nowwhen I talk to them, I'll never
pretend to have all of theanswers.
But if you ask me a questionand I don't know the answer to
it, I'm happy to be frustratedwith you until we both figure
(28:14):
out the answer together.
You know, and and I will tellstudents anytime I talk to them,
and I encourage instructors totell students, you can reach out
to me about anything I want tohear from you.
If you have concerns,questions, complaints, thoughts,
(28:37):
ideas, suggestions.
I'm here.
I'm here.
That's my role, that's what Iwant from you.
Because I can't make thisbetter for you if you don't
communicate with me what youneed.
Um, and every instructor thatwe have needs to portray that
(29:03):
that same willingness to be openand approachable by the
students.
You know, we we have ourguidelines, we have our
processes, but we still have tobe that person for our
students, that they feelcomfortable saying, hey, Mrs.
(29:25):
K, you know, can can I talk toyou after class and know that
they can talk, that that's asfar as it's gonna go, and
they're safe, and that even ifshe doesn't have the answers at
that particular moment, she'sgonna be frustrated with them
(29:47):
until she figures out theanswers to their questions, you
know.
Um, and just not being, Iguess, overly assertive and And
saying, well, I have all theanswers and giving them an
answer that is wrong.
Yeah.
Yep.
In favor of being real.
unknown (30:12):
Yeah.
Kristen (30:13):
I'm with you.
Marie (30:14):
I'm with you.
I told I told George the lasttime I talked to him that in my
opinion, Kay needs to be theposter child of his vision.
Um I just she is sheencompasses his vision.
You know, I my favorite thingabout him is that he believes
(30:37):
and he has led Ross in believingeveryone deserves an education.
And I love that.
I love that.
There are so many students atRoss who are here because they
wouldn't have gotten anopportunity for an education
anywhere else, and has given usthe ability to help them in ways
(31:05):
that other schools wouldn'thave helped them.
Um, and she she's a perfectexample of that.
She she won, she persevered,she did everything she was
supposed to do, and she allowedme to be a part of it, and I
(31:29):
will be eternally grateful toher for allowing me to have a
small role in that.
But I believe a hundredpercent that with or without me,
she would have perseveredbecause that's the kind of
person that she is.
Um and now she's giving itback, and that's coming full
(31:50):
circle, in my opinion.
Um, she she is exactly the kindof person that I feel like is
his vision of who and what Rossis.
Kristen (32:04):
Oh, yeah.
All right, I'll ask Kay firstand then Marie.
But what's your one piece ofadvice for a student who wants
to not just graduate but thriveafterwards?
Kay (32:20):
How do I put this?
I would say, like, if that isyour dream, then go after your
dream.
Don't let nobody stop you.
Do not let nothing get in yourway.
And also remember, if plan Adoes not work, then just know
you got plan B, plan Z, all theway to double Z.
Kristen (32:40):
I love it.
How about you, Marie?
If a student was needed someadvice who wants to not just
graduate but thrive.
Marie (32:49):
My best advice is seize the day, keep your eyes open,
keep your ears open, and seizeevery opportunity that comes
your way.
Kristen (33:01):
I love it.
Oh, I'll add my piece ofadvice.
Remember that your current thecareer you dream of starts with
just small, consistent steps,and really your first diploma,
as Kay just showed us, is justthe beginning.
It's only the beginning.
Andy (33:20):
Thanks for joining us on Make the Leap.
A big thank you to our guests,Kay and Marie, for their
passion, perspective, and forbeing such powerful examples of
what persistence and purpose canlead to.
Kay (33:33):
Thank you for having us.
Andy (33:34):
If today's conversation inspired you, share this episode
with a classmate or colleague.
And don't forget to subscribeso you never miss the next leap
forward.
Until then, stay motivated,stay focused, and most of all,
keep making the leap.
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