DETROIT - It's a big day for one Detroit businesswoman.
She is cutting the ribbon on a new health professions training center, which was funded by Detroit's Motor City Match grant. But it's her path to this point that's inspiring many of her students.
Annette Anderson says she was a teenage mother and high school dropout who never gave up on her dreams of success. And now, she's finding ways to give back and motivate others toward promising careers.
At a training center on Detroit's northwest side, students like Ta'nia Patton are learning skills to become certified nursing assistants.
But at 1st Step Healthcare Training, where Anderson is leading the charge, was celebrating another class of graduates.
Anderson was grooming and preparing various students for technical careers in the healthcare industry.
"Every day, I get to walk in and realize that I put this together," said Anderson.
Anderson recently opened her training center with a $20,000 grant from Detroit's Motor City Match program. But the road to this point, Anderson says, wasn't easy.
"I got pregnant with my son at the age of 15. Dropped out of high school in the ninth grade. Ended up getting a GED and becoming a CNA," Anderson said.
Her journey didn't stop there as she worked hard to become a registered nurse, and her resilience now has her motivating others like Asia Brown
who received a scholarship to 1st Step Healthcare.
"When she told me her story, it was kind of touching. It kind of motivated me more," said Brown.
Anderson says her drive, determination, and guidance from mentors helped her navigate and build a successful career in nursing.
And that drive now has her providing space and opportunity for others at 1st Step Healthcare Training.
"It don't matter where you came from. It don't matter what might have happened in your life; you can become what you want to become as long as you put that work in. And I'm here to work with you to get there," Anderson said.
Anderson says her rigorous boot camp CNA program takes four weeks to complete. The center has already helped certify and graduate 70 students in its first year
The center has already helped certify and graduate 70 students in its first year.