When Bucks threw a lifeline
this winter to workers tossed
from their jobs into the
stormy seas of the economic
downturn, Wendy Nieman
and Kathleen Hart were
among the hundreds who
grabbed on and held tight.
Nieman, Hart, and the
many thousands of suddenly
unemployed in our area are
facing the fact that they must
now look for work while trying
to make ends meet. They
find themselves in a
quandary: They need a
degree or new skills training
to fit into the job market, yet
often don’t have the funds
available to pay for the education
they need.
That’s where the new
Tuition-Free Program for
Displaced Workers offered at
Bucks comes in.
A customer service manager
for Marriott for nine years,
Nieman, 45, was laid off last
May. But she didn’t settle for
treading water. After mailing
untold numbers of résumés
and landing quite a few interviews,
she hasn’t yet found a
safe harbor in the professional
world.
Potential employers either
told her she was overqualified
or they took the position
for which she was applying
off the market because of the
worsening economic landscape.
“It’s an interesting situation,”
said Nieman.
And then she learned about
the free tuition program.
After graduating from high
school 27 years ago, working
and teaching ballroom dancing,
Nieman is enrolled in
algebra and composition
courses this semester, hoping
to earn her associate’s degree
and transfer to a local fouryear
college. She plans to be
a math teacher with a focus
on special education. “I feel
blessed to be able
to take advantage
of the free tuition
program. I love it
every single day I
am on campus,”
she said.
The program could not
have come at a better time.
Nieman’s entire family has
been hard-hit by the recession.
Her husband and son
were recently laid off. They
have a mortgage on their
“modest” condo in
Doylestown and must pay for
their health-care coverage
through COBRA, so there are
scant funds available for education
expenses.
Hart, 54, is a single mom
from Perkasie and a recent
college graduate. Laid off in
February from the Eastern
Pennsylvania Emergency
Medical Services Council, she
and one of her two sons,
Greg, 27, who was also laid
off, spend much of their time
attending job fairs, tracking
down government job openings
and taking civil-service
tests. It’s grueling. It’s not
unusual for them to take
more than one test in a week
– or even in a single day. “I
feel beat up,” she said.
Hart said she plans to “take
as many civil-service tests as
possible” because a publicsector
job “offers amazing
benefits and a very good pension.”
After her layoff, she says
she panicked. Unlike
Nieman, Hart’s last employer
didn’t participate in COBRA,
so she has no health benefits.
And this month, thousands of
dollars worth of insurance
and property-tax bills are
coming due.
The good news is that Hart
has a chance at a job with the
state. The not-so-good news
is that the position pays less
than what she receives in
unemployment benefits, no
health coverage is offered
and it’s an intermittent position.
The bad news is that if
she is offered the job and she
refuses to take it, she must
give up her unemployment
benefits.
But Hart is practical. If a
job comes her way, she might
heed the advice she heard on
CNN lately: “Just take the
friggin’ job!” If it’s not a perfect
fit, she thinks, “it may not
be THE job, but its experience
that I can use down the road.”
Hart’s résumé is impressive.
A straight-A student,
she recently earned her college
degree while working
12-hour shifts in the emergency
room of the Children’s
Hospital of Philadelphia. She
started a business. She is a
professional skier. And she
has been a paramedic since
1985. After actually witnessing
the second airplane as it
crashed into the south tower
of the World Trade Center
while she drove along the
Pulaski Skyway on 9/11, she
spent a month helping out at
Ground Zero.
Two years ago, Hart studied
anatomy at Bucks. Now,
she’s taking an eLearning
class in nutrition from Bucks
through the tuition-free program,
hoping that the skills
she learns will help her land a
good job that she likes.
About 800 Bucks County
residents have jumped
aboard to take advantage of
the free tuition program.
Monica Flint, the college’s
coordinator of experiential
learning said, “It is a win-win
for all concerned. The college
will benefit from the students,
who will go on to take
more classes and finish their
degrees. They will recommend
the college to other
people, who will see the high
quality of the programs
here.”
Hart is enthusiastic about
Flint’s resources and knowledge.
“Monica is incredible,”
she said. “She makes even
the unpleasant parts of the
process seem doable. Beyond
her helpfulness, she’s a champion
of the program.”
The program is open to
Bucks County residents who
have lost their jobs through
no fault of their own since
Dec. 1, 2007, and, according
to the application form, are
“not receiving education or
training assistance from their
former employer or a government
agency.”
The program is
a v a i l a b l e
through August
2010, by which
time displaced workers may
take as many as 30 credits
tuition-free.
Meanwhile, Kathy Hart
continues to focus on her
search. She is taking advantage
of every option in order
to find a job and stay afloat.
But she is aware of the daunting
task before her: “I look at
my son, who has a master’s
[degree], and he’s out of
work. It’s very scary right
now,” she said. “I think it’s
neat that Bucks has this program.”
And like many at the college,
Nieman hopes that by
taking courses at Bucks,
employment will soon appear
on the horizon.”I’m an eternal
optimist. Everything happens
for a reason,” she said.
“I am where I’m supposed to
be right now. I think that
with the courses, doors will
open that wouldn’t open otherwise.
It’s been great.”