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Tykira Evans had gone to dental assistant school, earned her credentials, and started looking for work. But despite her training, she couldn't land a job in the field.
"I couldn't find a job, the 23-year-old Trenton resident said. “Like, at all.”
So she did what a lot of people do when their career plans stall -- she found work that paid the bills. In her case, that meant delivering packages for Amazon. It was income, but it wasn't the healthcare career she'd trained for. And the path forward seemed financially impossible.
"I was tired of going to school and wasn't making enough, and I did not have the money to get a Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) certificate," Evans said. "You can’t get financial aid for a CNA, you have to pay out of pocket. So I was just going to settle."
That's where many stories like Evans’s end, with someone talented and motivated stuck in a job that doesn't match their potential, unable to afford the next step. But in 2025, someone told Tykira about Isles and Fund my Future, and her story took a different turn.
Evans had never participated in a workforce training program before, so she didn't know what to expect when she called Isles. What she found was refreshingly straightforward.
"I called, said I was interested," she remembers. "I was told I could come in in a week. I went in, I met Patricia Berhau, and I got all my stuff done that day."
One week from inquiry to enrollment. All paperwork completed in a single appointment. "It was really easy," Evans says simply when asked about the enrollment process.
Working with her career coach, Evans explored her options. She initially wanted to pursue Patient Care Technician training, but when that specific program wasn't available through Fund My Future's partners, they developed an alternative plan: She would earn her CNA certification, while stacking additional credentials in phlebotomy and EKG to build a comprehensive healthcare skill set.
The CNA training took about a month. The phlebotomy certification took two to three months. But between those programs, Evans hit a roadblock that derails many workforce development participants: Her training provider couldn't provide the required externship placement.
This is where having a dedicated career coach proved invaluable. Isles didn't leave Evans to figure it out alone. The team coordinated with a separate training program to secure an alternative externship site, for not only her but others in her program with the same issue.. Crisis averted. Training continued.
These behind-the-scenes interventions -- the problem-solving that participants might barely notice -- often make the difference between program completion and dropout.
Isles understands something crucial: Paying for training is only part of the equation. If participants can't get to class or can't attend because of childcare responsibilities, even free training becomes inaccessible.
For Evans, the program's wraparound supports were essential. FMF covered childcare costs, provided bus passes, and paid for Uber rides when needed. These weren't luxuries; they were the supports that allowed her to show up, focus on learning, and complete her certifications.
Beyond training supports, Evans has also been working with Isles staff on financial coaching. "We've been doing budgeting," she notes, and she's working on strategies to build her credit, skills that will serve her long after the program ends.
Evans recently started work as a CNA at an assisted living near her home. Her wage? Now 50% more than what she would have earned as a dental assistant.
"It's going great," she says of the new job.
When asked if she'd recommend Isles to others, Evans doesn't hesitate: "Of course."
And she hasn't just said she'd recommend it -- she's actively done so. "I sure did," she confirms. Friends have taken her up on the recommendation, though they're now waiting for the next enrollment period.
When asked to reflect on the difference between her life before and after that first meeting with Isles, Evans’s response is immediate and emphatic: "I feel like everything is different."
And she's not just talking about the present. In May 2026, she’ll start nursing school, a goal that seemed impossible just two years ago when she was delivering packages and feeling ready to give up on healthcare entirely.
From dental assistant school graduate working as a delivery driver to CNA with a clear path to becoming a registered nurse, that's the kind of transformation Fund My Future was designed to create. And for Tykira Evans, it's not just changing her career trajectory. It's changing everything.
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