My Story: Guadalupe

At the encouragement of her close friend, Guadalupe moved from New York to Charlotte to find better opportunities and an improved lifestyle for herself and her 15-year-old daughter. Little did she know the COVID-19 pandemic would cause stay-at-home orders and hiring freezes just as they arrived.

Instead of letting it keep her down, Guadalupe got to work. She took part in the first virtual cohort of the Customer, Administrative and Business Services program at Goodwill to improve her technical skills and business acumen. She started working with a career navigator to perfect her resume and polish her interviewing skills, and applied and applied and applied to jobs.

Now, Guadalupe is working full-time, and receiving additional training with a company where she sees growth potential. She and her daughter moved into their own place in time for her daughter to start the new school year, and she’s using this experience to teach her daughter about grit, resilience, and the importance of working hard for what you want.

This article originally appeared in the Goodwill of Southern Piedmont blog. Watch Guadalupe’s video to learn about how she channeled her determination to find happiness in her career during the pandemic.

When you donate and shop at your local Goodwill, you help individuals like Guadalupe reach their full potential through the power of work. In fact, 87 cents of every dollar you spend in our retail stores and through shopgoodwill.com and other ecommerce platforms is reinvested in your community to create employment placement, job training and career support services. Find the location closest to you or make a monetary donation to show your support.