Rhiannon said she knew nothing about QUEST when she applied as a nursing student at San Antonio College. Today, she says she would not be where she is without the emotional and financial support the program provided. “I get emotional talking about it, but I would not be where I am without them. They were like a parent [who] knew more about the college experience.”

When Rhiannon first started with QUEST, she wanted to get her associate degree, find a career in nursing, and save up enough money to own her own home. Today she’s proud to say that she owns her own home, works as a full-time instructor at the Galan College of Nursing and on as needed at BAMC as a registered nurse, and has a master’s degree. “If you had told me in high school that I would get a master’s degree, I would have laughed at you. Project QUEST staff emotionally supported us and prepared us in every way. They led us all the way to the door of getting a job.”

With more than 16 years’ experience in media and public relations, Laura Thompson thought she knew everything that she needed to know to stay on top of her career. But when the COVID-19 pandemic hit and changed everything, she turned to Project QUEST. “They filled in the missing pieces.”

Laura was starting her own TV network when the pandemic hit, and it went belly up. Then her mother had a stroke and she got laid off working at Amazon after injuring her back. “Everything fell apart financially, and I didn’t know what I was going to do to get back into the workforce because I hadn’t been in the workforce for a long time,” she said. She enrolled in a Project QUEST orientation and signed up for a program that helps boost participants’ chances of getting hired by teaching them interview, computer, and networking skills. Today, Laura is fielding job offers and is strategizing her next career move. “The training is just phenomenal. I have a good coach and she’s really an advocate for all of us ― I’ve watched other people in the class who came in and were depressed and now they have their shoulders back. Some of them have already found jobs.”

Gerritt was working at a downtown restaurant with a baby on the way when he decided he needed to jumpstart his career. Today, he’s looking to graduate as an aircraft mechanic and the sky's the limit. “It feels like a new chance.”

Gerritt had always wanted to be in the Air Force so finding the aircraft mechanic program at QUEST was a perfect fit. But his QUEST career coach is really what’s helped make the difference. “He was very adamant about making sure that I had money. I told him ‘I think we’ll go through some hardship, but we’ll be ok.’” His response? “I don’t want you to go through hardship, I want you to go through college and graduate and get a good job.” Today, Gerritt is focused on that goal, dreaming of working his way up in the field and eventually running his own seaplane repair shop in the Mediterranean. His new lease on life makes him feel like he’s in an inspirational commercial. “It feels like that’s actually happening with the lights and the curtains ― like I have a new chance. There’s no way that any of this would have happened if it weren’t for QUEST.”