Harrisonburg News
Campus News & Events
New Career, New Confidence
It’s always nice to meet a successful National College graduate who we haven’t seen for awhile: Melissa Smith is such a grad. A 2005 graduate with an associate degree in accounting, Melissa attributes her career success since 2005 to what she learned and experienced at National.
Melissa had worked as an operator in a sewing factory and worked as a nurse’s aid in her early years. But when her marriage began to unravel, she realized she needed training for a better career that would enable her to support herself and her son. Her sister, Tonya Kite May, had graduated from National and was a financial planning advisor for the Harrisonburg campus at the time. When she finally registered as a student, Melissa says her life was in a mess and she definitely lacked self-confidence. But National not only gave her the administrative office and accounting skills she needed, it gave her something maybe even more important –her self-esteem. She became increasingly confident and self-directed in her months as a student at National. One month before graduation, Melissa got a job as an administrative assistant at May Supply, a distributor of plumbing and water system materials and services.
Melissa is now working as assistant to the Sales Manager of Beck Company Hotels which owns and operates many of the Hampton Inns, Sleep Inns, Candlewood Suites, and other hotels in this region of the country. She says she loves her job and uses her accounting and administrative office skills daily. National College gave her a start in her professional career, and she highly recommends it.
