Madison News
Campus News & Events
A Job That Finally Fits
After years of working in the medical field, Anita Puckett felt she hadn't found the perfect job. When a back injury put her out of work as a phlebotomist, she decided it was time to go back to school in pursuit of a job that would make her happy and accommodate her health needs.
Despite having a degree as a surgical technologist, Anita decided she wanted something completely different from the medical field. She enrolled at the Madison Campus in the administrative office professional associate degree program.
While at National she found instructors who invested in her and made the difference; the list was long. "I love Ms. Counts, Ms. Berry, Mr. Deppen, Mr. Williams," she states, naming just a few of the great instructors she had. "They were the main ones who, when I was like, ‘Forget it.' They said, ‘No, come here, let me help you," she says. That support was vital in her last year when Anita underwent back surgery and found there were plenty of times when she felt like giving up.
As a teenager Anita had, "a variety of grades" as she likes to put it; going through high school she did just enough to get by. It wasn't until she got older that she realized "I need to do my best." And her ‘best' she did. "I made the Dean's list I don't know how many times," she shares, "but it felt pretty good knowing that I could do that once I decided I was going to."
Now Anita works for a local church using the new skills she learned at National. What she enjoys most about her new job is the peace and quiet. As the mother of two middle schoolers, Anita's life is filled with the hustle and bustle of making sure her kids get to school and her husband gets to work. She said her new job is like a "vacation." She says, "when I'm here I have four hours of peace." She also feels more involved with her church that she missed as a parishioner. "A whole lot more people know my name!" She exclaims, and though the work requires self-motivation, she is happy to have found the job that finally fits.
