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Nothing makes Alexis Hill, 22, prouder than when people tell her how much she reminds them of her grandmother. Clarabel Lewis was well-known in Charlottesville. “She was everybody’s mom. We lived in the heart of Charlottesville. You could see UVA hospital from my childhood home. My grandmother didn’t judge people,” Hill shares.

It’s those qualities that Hill brings to her job every day at University Hospital. As a certified nursing assistant (CNA), she cares for patients coming from major surgeries. “I love my job. I’ve gotten so many compliments from family members who say I’m a very loving person and that I really care.”

She adds, “I really love doing nursing. I’ve worked in hospitals, nursing homes, rehab facilities and pediatrics … Everything that you could imagine and there’s nothing I don’t like about healthcare … I have that background from my childhood that raised me to be a compassionate and responsible person … I want to take charge and be a nurse and be even more one day.”

While Hill credits her success from the supportive and loving home provided by her parents and grandmother, it was a local program that pointed Hill to a promising career in healthcare.

While at Charlottesville High School, Hill got excellent grades. She aspired to attend New York University (close to where her father lives), and eventually run a company. But after high school, she stayed close to home to help care for her younger brother, and enrolled in Pathways to a Health Career, a small pilot project funded by the DuPont Foundation and based at Piedmont Virginia Community College (PVCC).

The year was 2015 and Ridge Schuyler, then director of the Charlottesville Works Initiative, had just teamed up with UVA Health System to prepare several local residents to fill much-needed patient care assistant positions. Hill participated in the Pathways pilot project where she found inspiring and knowledgeable teachers. “I found people who see you and understand that just because you don’t go to college, it doesn’t mean you don’t want to be a successful person,” Hill says.

The Pathways program has since evolved into Network2Work@PVCC, serving more than 600 Charlottesville area residents. The program is designed to break the cycle of poverty by giving job seekers not only the skills but the support — such as loaner cars and gas gift cards — to secure family-sustaining employment in a wide range of fields. The majority of those who have completed the program have found jobs paying more than $25,000 a year and don’t require a college degree.

“What we recognized early on and what the pilot really illuminated is that it’s the whole person who shows up at the job — not just the trained person, but the trained person who needs child care or who may need car repairs,” says Schuyler, now Dean of PVCC’s Community Self-Sufficiency Programs and who oversees Network2Work@PVCC.

He adds, “One of the most sought-after places to work is at UVA Health. Not only does the university have lots of career-ladder opportunities, but it is a pre-eminent place in the community to work. And for whatever reasons there are people who live within blocks of the hospital who would have never dreamed of getting a job there. By creating an intentional pathway, we have been able to find those people and connect them to the opportunities and supports to become quality employees.”

Changing Lives
While training to be a patient care assistant, Hill learned how to successfully navigate a job interview and how important her role is. “One of my teachers showed us that being a CNA is not all about the dirty work. It’s about changing people’s lives and being there at possibly their lowest point in life. It’s a very emotional job. You get connected with people. You’re there to motivate them and let them know they can do it.”

In 2013, Hill lost her grandmother to cancer but she remains ever present in Hill’s mind. “One of the main reasons I wanted to get into healthcare was watching all of the CNAs and my uncle take care of her … Now when I’m doing those acts of kindness, I keep my grandmother in the back of my head, and I think if I was taking care of her, this is what I would do.”

Fostering Financial Stability
Alexis Hill often recommends the Network2Work@PVCC program. “I want to be motivational for other people. I tell them, ‘No matter where you come from, there is always someone to help you do something great,’” Hill says. Learn more about the program and meet another participant who’s found success at UVA Health.

(By Kelly Casey.)