Building a Career Around What Matters Most

For Karina, finding the right career wasn't simply about finding a job. It was about finding work that could fit the realities of caring for a child with cystic fibrosis.

Karina's daughter, Rosalie, has experienced significant health challenges and hospitalizations over the years. At one point, what began as a trip to the emergency room led to a five-month hospital stay. As Rosalie's primary caregiver and advocate, Karina found it increasingly difficult to maintain a traditional work schedule.

By the time she came to Claire's Place Foundation's Work Proudly Program, Karina had been out of the workforce for several years. But she was ready to begin thinking about what could come next.

Finding a Path That Fits

Karina already had something important to build upon: an associate degree in mathematics and a love of numbers.

When she applied to Work Proudly, she identified data entry, data analysis and bookkeeping as career paths that interested her. She hoped to find work that could utilize her strengths while also providing the flexibility she needed to continue caring for her daughter.

“I enjoy numbers and feel that one of these fields could be a good fit for me,” she shared.

Working with Work Proudly Program Manager and Career and Academic Consultant Marcia Wall, Karina began turning that broad idea into a more concrete career plan.

Soon, she identified a specific goal:

“I would like to be enrolled in a course for bookkeeping so I can begin a career as a bookkeeper and support my family better.”

Through Work Proudly, Karina was able to pursue training in bookkeeping and recently completed her QuickBooks training, adding a valuable new skill to her existing education and experience.

Building Toward What Comes Next

Karina's journey is still unfolding, and that's an important part of her story.

Work Proudly isn't only about helping someone find an immediate job. Sometimes the first step is identifying a career that fits. Sometimes it's returning to school, earning a certification or learning a new skill. And sometimes it's helping someone who has spent years focused on caring for others begin investing in their own future again.

For Karina, bookkeeping offers the possibility of combining her natural strength with numbers with a career path that may provide the flexibility her family needs.

Early in the program, she told us:

“I have only begun the onboarding process, but I feel confident that this program will get me the results I've been looking for.”

Today, she has already taken an important step toward those results.

With her QuickBooks training complete, Karina can continue building her skills and moving toward her goal of a career in bookkeeping, one that can help her support her family without losing sight of what matters most.

Help Create the Next Opportunity

Every Work Proudly journey looks different because every participant comes to us with different strengths, challenges and goals.

Through individualized career guidance, education, professional training and practical resources, Claire's Place Foundation helps people and families affected by cystic fibrosis build careers that work with their lives, not against them.

Your support helps make opportunities like Karina's QuickBooks training possible and gives more families the tools to build a more sustainable future.