T’Shai Thomas – Como

One of Great Jobs KC’s Career Resource Managers, LaCherl, had the pleasure of working alongside T’Shai Thomas-Como, a Great Jobs KC Training Program Alumni. She created this Scholar Success Story to share her outstanding education and career accomplishments.
T’Shai graduated from the Great Jobs KC Job Training program and completed her Medical Assistant training program with Me 2 You Career Academy. T’Shai’s work experience has been in the food industry, including fast food, concessions, and dietary aid positions in hospitals and long-term care facilities, which she found to be a dead-end and less than fulfilling. She, however, loves children and has always had a desire to uplift and encourage them. Seeing commercials for St. Jude Research Hospital helped her decide to pursue a career in healthcare, specifically pediatrics, where she can help sick children.

Once T’Shai began researching colleges, she quickly learned that she would need help with the costs. To get advice, she reached out to a cousin who was currently a student. Her cousin shared that she received a scholarship from Great Jobs KC and encouraged T’Shai to apply. T’Shai applied immediately and, after speaking with her Scholar Advocate, decided on Medical Assistant training. She felt that medical assistance would be a way to get her foot in the healthcare door and would be a stepping stone to becoming a pediatric nurse.

T’Shai completed her training and was referred to the Career Resources Management team for job search assistance in January 2024, but it was not without challenges. T’Shai was dealing with the loss of her father, which was very difficult for her. She is also a very shy person. The combination made job searching challenging, particularly interviewing. T’Shai, however, was very diligent and did not give up. She applied for every position she received a referral to and attended every hiring event she was notified of. Unfortunately, she consistently received rejection after rejection. She met one-on-one with her Career Resource Manager for advice and interview assistance almost weekly to practice interviewing and get additional coaching. Her persistence paid off when she attended the Employment Team’s Healthcare Hiring event in October. She met a representative from Vibrant Health who expressed an interest in speaking with her further and soon had an interview. She followed up with a “Thank You” card and soon was offered a job at Vibrant Health as a Medical Assistant! She currently works in the Family Medicine Clinic but plans to request a transfer to the Pediatric Clinic once the opportunity arises.

T’Shai is very proud of herself and grateful to Great Jobs KC. She stated that she would not have gotten this far without the assistance she received, including tuition and transportation assistance. She noted that the help she received at Great Jobs KC gave her confidence in herself.