Odette Phillip – 91��Ƭ

91��Ƭ Career & Technical Institute Helps Student Prepare for Medical Career

Michelle Lang — Tue, 29 Nov 2022 20:33:04 +0000

Christopher Clement has always had an interest in science and decided while in high school that he wanted to pursue a career in the medical field. He is currently enrolled in the Medical Assistant Clinical (MAC) program at 91��Ƭ Career & Technical Institute (NCCTI) to kickstart his career.

Clement considered joining the U.S. Air Force to become a medical professional but decided to attend NCCTI instead. His older brother previously completed the MAC program at NCCTI and is currently employed at University Hospital in Newark. He urged Clement to enroll at NCCTI because of his positive experience.

Clement, who is 22 years old, is happy with his decision.

“Everyone is here to help you,” he said of the NCCTI staff. “They give you every chance and opportunity to succeed. They help you find the path you’re looking for and help you start your career.”

He described the atmosphere as being like a family, with staff members offering support with students’ courses of study as well as help outside of the classroom when needed.

Academically, Clement feels well prepared by his instructor, Dr. Mamdouh Sorial, who he said breaks down all topics to ensure his students understand the material and how to perform procedures in the real world.

“He is by far one of the best teachers I ever had,” Clement said. “He puts students first.”

Sorial described Clement as a good student who is always on time, is engaged and completes his work. He said Clement also has a good relationship with everyone and will represent NCCTI well in the workforce.

“I believe he will be a great medical assistant,” Sorial said.

Student Success Coach Odette Phillip described Clement as a polite, respectful and cooperative student.

“He has demonstrated that he is focused on completing the MAC program,” she said. “Christopher’s attendance is consistent and he manages his course work remarkably.”

NCCTI Director Dr. Sylvia McCray said students like Clement inspire the school’s staff members.

“Christopher is the example of why NCCTI, its staff, instructors and administrator does what we do,” she said. “From the start of his program, Chris has stayed steady and focused on his goal. I am very proud of the work we are doing at NCCTI and of the work the team is doing to improve the student experience.”

Upon graduation, Clement hopes to find employment at a local medical facility. He also plans to continue his education. While he hasn’t decided on an exact degree, he knows he wants it to be within the medical field.

Currently, he enjoys performing EKGs the most because of the wealth of information that can be obtained. He said the chart of the cardiac activity not only shows the patient’s heartbeat. A trained technician can also determine if the patient has eaten, is thirsty or has been smoking, as well as other factors that could be affecting the heart.

Clement, who lives in East Orange, is on his way to achieving his goal of working in medicine. He is slated to complete the MAC program by the end of January.

NCCTI is an accredited post-secondary career and technical institution that is currently enrolling for the following programs: Automotive Technician, Building Trades Specialist, Medical Assistant Clinical, Patient Care Technician and Culinary Arts Specialist. NCCTI also operates a comprehensive Financial Opportunity Center and Bridges to Career Opportunities Program sponsored by the local and national Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC) offices. For more information, call 973-824-6484, log onto or visit 274 South Orange Ave., Newark.

91��Ƭ Career & Technical Institute Retention Team Supports Students to Increase Engagement and Program Completion

Michelle Lang — Fri, 11 Nov 2022 18:18:06 +0000

Every school aims to have engaged students who graduate with marketable skills to obtain employment. To increase engagement and completion rates, 91��Ƭ Career & Technical Institute (NCCTI) formed a Retention Team in August to help students overcome any barriers that would prevent them from completing their programs. Team members also organize student events as a way to build school pride.

The Retention Team, under the direction of NCCTI Director Dr. Sylvia McCray, is currently made up of four members. The team meets each Thursday to discuss attendance and which students have been chronically absent. While students who are absent receive a phone call that day, Andrea Kelly and Odette Phillip, who serve as Student Success Coaches and are members of the Retention Team, dig deeper to find out what is causing the absences and if there is support that they can offer to overcome any obstacles.

When a student communicates a barrier, the Retention Team member refers them to the identified resource that is needed. Referrals can be to the Family Resource Success Center, which provides assistance with food, transportation and housing referrals; Family Service Bureau of Newark (FSB), which offers mental and behavioral health services; the Financial Opportunity Center (FOC), which helps clients improve their financial situations; or Career Services, which helps students obtain employment.

The Retention Team is not just involved with students who are having difficulty making it to class, however. Team members consistently reach out to all students to keep them on track, provide support should any issues arise and cheer them on when they are doing well. Contact is usually by phone and email.

“The Retention Team is a proactive solution-oriented process whose purpose is to involve all parties in the student educational cycle from Admissions to Career Services/planning; in providing an equitable, positive, problem-solving approach to assist students, families and teachers in developing effective solutions, identify instructional strategies, interventions and/or supports that may resolve or alleviate academic, behavioral, career planning and/or social-emotional needs,” McCray said. “The creation of the Retention Team leads to a continuum of educational programming and services for maximizing student success within the school environment while limiting or eliminating the barriers that prevent them from meeting the goal of completion. Over time, I believe this team will continue to see more positive results from their efforts.”

NCCTI Director Dr. Sylvia McCray welcomes students and staff members to the Student Appreciation Luncheon on Oct. 27.

The team is also involved with campus student events. The first such event, the Student Appreciation Luncheon, was held on Oct. 27. Students from all programs gathered at the Main Campus, along with staff members and instructors, to enjoy lunch and each other’s company. It was also the first opportunity for some of the students to meet members of the Retention Team in person, particularly those in the Automotive Technician and Building Trades Specialist programs, which are held at the NCCTI Training Center.

The event also included the awarding of a certificate recognizing perfect attendance for the month of September. The hope is that seeing a peer getting recognized will motivate other students to come to class consistently.

Feedback from the event has been positive.

“Students spoke to me and they were really appreciative of it,” Phillip said. “They didn’t see it as just a sandwich.”

NCCTI students enjoyed sandwiches, drinks and cupcakes at the Student Appreciation Luncheon on Oct. 27.

The Retention Team also arranged for students to get bags of candy on Halloween and is planning events around Thanksgiving and Christmas that will provide more opportunities for students to mingle with those in other programs.

Building that camaraderie among students in all areas of study will help to keep students engaged and hopefully coming to class.

“They have to feel when they come here, that they belong,” Phillip said. “This is not just a classroom to do this and get out. We have to make them want to come here. And that’s where we’re going.”

Holding students accountable for their punctuality and attendance is beneficial to their future as well. When they enter the workforce, employers will expect them to come to work on time each day and communicate promptly if an unexpected situation arises.

“I’m glad that we now have a Retention Team that works together to ensure that students attend classes each day and on time,” said NCCTI Registrar Ramona Galley, who is also a member of the Retention Team. “Most of our students are young and many of them are dealing with all kinds of problems (personal, housing, health, financial), and we point them to many different resources that can help them while in the program here. The team often has one-on-one meetings with students to discuss barriers and a plan for successful completion.”

Helping students on their journey to a successful career is rewarding for members of the Retention Team.

“When a student who wasn’t coming or was lapsing, that person is there now doing what they’re supposed to do. That satisfaction that I touched that student and it’s working,” Phillip said.

Kelly sends students inspirational quotes to help motivate them. While it might seem small, the messages have resulted in positive interactions.

“I know two people that did respond. One said thank you and the other actually needed help. And we got her the help that she needed,” Kelly said.

The efforts of the Retention Team are meant to help students succeed and reach their full potential.

“We always want what’s best for them,” Kelly said.

91��Ƭ Helps Young Woman from Homelessness to a Medical Career

Michelle Lang — Fri, 30 Sep 2022 19:46:35 +0000

Ilene Villanueva has always wanted to work in the medical field. She said even as a child, people would seek her out for help translating or other tasks when she would go to doctor appointments or the emergency room.

Her hopes of becoming a doctor seemed out of reach when she became a mother at a young age and was unable to finish high school. She worked for a catering service and at a pharmacy in New York before moving to New Jersey. She found herself in a situation where her landlord only wanted rent payments in cash and he wouldn’t provide a lease. He changed the locks and she ended up homeless with her children.

Villanueva then found Harmony House, 91��Ƭ’s transitional housing facility for homeless families. She spent time there in 2017 and 2018 before moving to permanent housing. Harmony House employees informed her that 91��Ƭ Career & Technical Institute (NCCTI) offered a High School Equivalency (HSE) program, which was conveniently located right next door. She took advantage of the opportunity and earned her GED in 2018.

While in the HSE program, Villanueva learned about the accredited post-secondary medical programs NCCTI offered. She decided to enroll in the Medical Assistant Clinical (MAC) program to put herself on the path to a career.

The recent death of Villanueva’s father renewed her interest in a medical career.

“I thought, I really want to go into the medical field so that I can be able to be one person to change it, to be there for the people,” she said.

She completed the MAC program in 2020 and began working full-time at University Hospital in April of this year as an ambulatory care technician. In that role, she takes patients’ vitals; provides customer service to patients; schedules, cancels and reminds patients about appointments; and discharges patients.

Villanueva said she enjoys the first job of her medical career.

“I’ve gotten way farther than other people that have been working there for years. And that’s all thanks to the school because they taught me,” she said.

At age 29, Villanueva hopes to continue her education and become a registered nurse.

Her journey shows how NCCTI can serve as a bridge to get students where they ultimately want to be.

“NCCTI provides the stepping stones for students to create a foundational layer for them to expand upon or build up from,” said NCCTI Director Dr. Sylvia McCray. “The work we do here is to blow life back into a dead dream or a buried goal. We know the way to improve one’s life and circumstances begins with education and training. That is our main goal. Our mission is to push students so they can see what we see: opportunity, growth and choice for themselves.”

Odette Phillip was one of Villanueva’s HSE instructors who helped her earn her GED.

“At first, it was a challenge for her in terms of attendance due to the fact that she had limited support out of school. She pushed through this by staying after classes when she could to catch up on missed work. Ilene did her best and I admire her determination,” Phillip said. “I am really proud of her achievements thus far.”

Villanueva said Phillip, her MAC instructor and everyone else she encountered at 91��Ƭ helped her.

“They actually cared and said I see what you’re going through. I want to be here. I’m open ears and open hands and open information. Everything they could think of, they would always push me to do it,” Villanueva said. “They’ve been there for me like you couldn’t imagine. At my lowest, they were there. They didn’t judge me. And they helped me.”

In addition to being happy about going to school and starting a career she’s passionate about, Villanueva is proud to be a good role model for her four children.

“My kids have seen the steps I’ve been taking so they’ve been trying to do the same thing,” she said. “So everybody’s been coming home with honor roll certificates.”

NCCTI is an accredited post-secondary career and technical institution that offers the following programs: Automotive Technician, Diesel Technician, Building Trades Specialist, Medical Assistant Clinical, Patient Care Technician, Community Healthcare Worker, Culinary Arts Specialist and Business & Computer Technologies. NCCTI also operates a comprehensive Financial Opportunity Center and Bridges to Career Opportunities Program sponsored by the local and national Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC) offices. For more information, call 973-824-6484, log onto or visit 274 South Orange Ave., Newark.

NCCTI Student Earns High School Diploma & Culinary Arts Certification

Michelle Lang — Wed, 20 Oct 2021 15:23:39 +0000

91��Ƭ Career & Technical Institute (NCCTI) helps students begin careers with a strong educational foundation. The school offers a program for young people to earn their high school diplomas and then obtain certifications in a desirable field.

Newark resident Messiah Anderson attended NCCTI, earning a high school diploma and culinary arts certifications. She now has a job as a certified trainer at a restaurant.

Anderson was introduced to NCCTI when she was 16. She had dropped out of high school and her mother suggested she join Job Corps, which is a program that helps eligible young people complete their high school education, trains them for careers and assists them with obtaining employment throughout the United States. When Anderson went to fill out the Job Corps application with her mother, she met Aziza Johnson, who serves as the admissions representative for NCCTI.

“When we went downtown to fill out the application we met Ms. Johnson who was there filling out her own paperwork,” Anderson said.

Johnson shared information about NCCTI with Anderson’s mother who was a bit skeptical at first. As they continued their conversation in the Job Corps office, Johnson soon won over Anderson and her mother’s trust, promising she would watch out for Anderson and help her if she attended NCCTI’s High School Equivalency (HSE) program. From there, Anderson enrolled.

The start of her journey at NCCTI began with getting her high school diploma.

“I dropped out of high school my freshman year,” Anderson said.

She spoke about being a troubled teen and not even wanting to go to school. But attending the HSE program ultimately changed Anderson’s life for the better.

“A lot of jobs you can’t even work without a high school diploma, and the HSE instructor, Ms. Phillip, helped me,” she said.

Anderson shared how grateful she was for how NCCTI staff members stepped in during hard times, particularly HSE instructor Odette Phillip.

“At the time me and my mother were going through so much and Ms. Phillip gave me that motherly love that made me enjoy coming to school, and coming to her class.”

While she was in the program to earn her high school diploma, Anderson noticed the many career and technical programs NCCTI had to offer, with one standing out to her.

“I always was highly fond of being in a kitchen,” she said. “Growing up, at a young age, I used to always be in the kitchen with my great grandmother cooking with her.”

Anderson decided to continue her education at NCCTI in the Culinary Arts Specialist program. She said, “I always had a dream to cook,” and once she found out that there was a culinary program she was even more determined to get her high school diploma so that she could enroll in the culinary classes.

The Culinary Arts Specialist program launched Anderson into a culinary career. After completing the program, she became an entry-level cook at a restaurant. After excelling in that role, she was promoted to a certified trainer, which means she now trains new hires. There is also the possibility of her getting promoted further.

“It was so hands-on, and I felt like that was the best way for me to learn. It made me the person I am today,” Anderson said of the Culinary Arts Specialist program. “It helped me build my character, respect authority and so many other different things.”

Though the outcome was positive, it wasn’t always easy for Anderson.

“When I first started NCCTI, I didn’t want to be there, I didn’t want to listen to anybody, I didn’t want to go to school at all,” she said. “Because I dropped out of high school my freshman year, it was hard because I didn’t really understand the material. The way I got through it, once again was Ms. Phillip. She talked to me, she didn’t treat me like I was a kid. Even though I was like 16 at the time, she treated me like I was an adult so it was easy for me to come to her and talk to her. I’m giving all the credit to Ms. Phillip.”

Anderson is grateful she met Johnson and took the course she did.

“I remember when I first saw Ms. Johnson, and how she’s the reason why I didn’t get shipped off anywhere to go to school,” Anderson said. “Because of her, I was able to stay home and go to school.”

She raved about the entire NCCTI staff, including NCCTI Director Rodney Brutton and support staff.

“From Ms. Phillip to Ms. Johnson to the security guard at the front desk to Mr. Rodney, everybody, it was just marvelous,” said Anderson.

When asked to give some words of wisdom to someone who may be in the shoes of her past, Anderson gave this advice: “It’s a lot of people in this world that’s going to try to knock you down, and try to make you feel as though you’re not able to do it but the only thing that can make you do it is yourself, the only person that can knock you down is yourself. You’re also the only person that can pick you up.”

As for the future, Anderson hopes to exercise her entrepreneurial spirit and open up her own catering business.

“I recently started writing out my business plan. I’ve been dreaming of starting my own catering business for a very long time, so sooner or later I will be having my own catering business,” she said.

Academic Enrichment Students Introduced To Coding

Michelle Lang — Fri, 25 May 2018 20:20:25 +0000

Computer programming is an in-demand field with high paying jobs and has been called the most important job skill of the future. For many, the ins and outs of how computer programs work are a mystery.

But students in the 91��Ƭ Workforce Development Center Academic Enrichment program were introduced to that world thanks to the Newark City of Coding Initiative.

91��Ƭ Workforce Development Center has been identified as a community-based partner to provide basic coding services as part of the Newark City of Coding Initiative, which is led by Rutgers-Newark under the leadership of Senior Vice Chancellor for Administration and Economic Development and Chief Financial Officer Arcelio Aponte. The goal is to align institutions of learning, economic development and community-based organizations “to create a citywide ecosystem that cultivates a culture of coding and digital agility.”

The Newark City of Coding Initiative brought 91��Ƭ Workforce Development Center into a collaborative partnership with Apple. Apple provided training sessions prior to the day-long look at coding and iPads for the students to use. Academic Enrichment students are Newark residents between the ages of 16 and 24 who are working to obtain a high school diploma.

91��Ƭ Fellow Akua Achampong participated in the training sessions hosted by Apple representatives starting in October. She was the facilitator and instructor for the introduction to coding session the Academic Enrichment students participated in May 9.

Using the iPads, the students learned the basics of coding with Swift Playgrounds, an app that teaches the coding language Swift.

“The students were really high energy,” Achampong said. “They were really good at it.”

Students enjoyed the opportunity to be exposed to coding, which was new for many of them.

“It was a great experience for me because it gave me the idea to get into computers,” said Nafeesah Loyal. “It opened my eyes and horizons to the computer world. I want to learn more.”

Sandro Boutros agreed that the day was worthwhile. “This was the first time I heard of coding,” he said. “I was recording it so I can re-watch it at home so I can learn more.”

Academic Enrichment Lead Instructor Odette Phillip said it was good for students to get a behind-the-scenes look at apps.

“This activity had them really engaged,” she said. “And it gave them an opportunity to think about different careers they might want to pursue.”

While the one-day experience was beneficial, 91��Ƭ Workforce Development Center Director Rodney Brutton hopes the school can offer a full program in the future.

“Being able to offer a basic coding class related to computer science fits into our long-term plan to diversify our course offerings,” he said. “Ultimately we would like to offer a certificate-based coding program that lends itself to students ultimately earning an associate or bachelor’s degree in computer science.”

Brutton said the next step is to talk with Apple about the program and curriculum. He said Apple would help with development.

For more information about 91��Ƭ Workforce Development Center and its offerings, visit newcommunity.org or call 973-824-6484.