MCC Provides Fast Track to New Career for Education Student

After moving from Thailand to Lowell, June Nuchjaree Persons was unsure of what she wanted to do with her life. Middlesex Community College’s Early Education and Care (EEC) Career Pathways Grant – funded by the Massachusetts Department of Education – allowed her to take classes at no cost to her, enhance her skills at work, and create a stronger career path for herself.

“The future is stable for me,” Persons said. “As I have only worked in America for one year, it would have taken me several more years to prepare the funds I need to get into this line of work. Instead, I could just jump right in and begin to serve nine lovely toddlers, their parents, and the early childhood center where I work.”

As a wife and mother, Persons is balancing her studies with her job and personal responsibilities. In addition to removing the burden of the cost of classes, Middlesex is making education more accessible for her by offering the program online. This provides her with flexibility to finish her classes when she can and maintain a schedule that works for her family.

“The Career Pathways Grant is focused on people who have families and jobs to juggle,” she said.

Having earned a master’s degree in a different field in Thailand, Persons has felt confident in her classes at Middlesex. She has also benefitted from the support she has received from all of the faculty and staff who have shown they are “there to help us in each area of need,” she said.

Volunteering in a nursery at a church and donating masks for children at the Cambodian Mutual Assistance Association fostered Persons’ passion for teaching. In addition to raising her own family, her work in the field has helped her understand the investment and trust a family puts in someone watching their children.

Because of how important it is to work with and treat children well, Persons believes that MCC’s program “promotes better quality in childhood care across Massachusetts.”

“What I learned applies so much to my culture, Thai families and educators, as we learn better ways to raise children and promote child growth and development,” she said. “My own experiences with young children in the past and now are coming together for me professionally.”

Thanks to her participation in the certificate, Persons is already advancing in her job. Now working as a lead teacher in her classroom, she is combining the skills and knowledge she has learned in her classes at MCC with the responsibilities of working in a management role. In the future, Persons is considering continuing her studies to earn a degree because the certificate has led to her earning more credit, trust, flexibility and opportunities at work.

“Choosing MCC is an obvious choice,” Persons said. “If there are others looking for a career that is fun, ever-changing and rewarding, I would recommend looking up this program on Early Childhood at MCC!”