
Breaking Age Barriers: Empowering Women of All Ages: Family First Grantee Daughters of Zion Opens Doors For CNA Career Opportunities
Written by Staff – July 25, 2024
MEMPHIS, TN —- Daughters of Zion held its 7th Family First CNA orientation for the August 2024 CNA class on July 24, 2024, and 14 students showed up to begin their career journey in the healthcare career field. Charline Murrell was a standout, because at 64 she has not allowed herself to be deterred. She has a 43-year-old daughter who had cancer which is now benign since November of last year but still has stomach problems and requires assistance. Her son, who is 21, has brain damage due to loss of oxygen to his brain for 10 minutes – he now has no mobility, only eye movement. She wants to be a caregiver for her children through one of the state insurance programs.
She found Daughters of Zion through research – she liked the way how the enrollment staff worked with her to be in the program. She appreciates the tuition waiver and the fact that it is family based as she is raising her grandchildren. The staff had a lot of information and assisted her thoroughly through the process. She did not let her age be a deterrent – she talks to the Lord on how to get through her situations. Her coworkers showed her how to upload the documents with her phone for the application.
She appreciates how the staff of Daughters of Zion is available for assistance for anything she needs. She appreciates Daughters of Zion, William and Johnson Career College and Dr. Gerald Kiner. She had been listening to Dr Kiner’s encouraging words over the years and was overjoyed when she realized that he was involved in the program. She saw that as a sign that she was in the right place.
At 21, Takeiya Grayer was not surprised to be the youngest one in the group – she is used to being around older adults. She likes working with older people as this has caused her to gain a wealth of knowledge. She wants to be in the medical field as she is looking for a long term job that has a career. Her ultimate goal is to be a registered nurse.
She used to work in a dentist’s office and that is how she got her initial experience in the medical field. She also worked in a medical warehouse and assembled medical kits and sterilized equipment. This was also inspiring and made her realize even more that she wanted to be in the healthcare field but in a more involved way as she discovered her passion for helping people. She felt she had more to bring to the table than being in the warehouse.
Ms. Grayer has been working from the age of 16 and is not afraid of hard work. A friend told her about the program at Daughters of Zion more than a year ago. At the time, her schedule could not accommodate the class but now that she is unemployed, she can pursue her dream. She feels it has all worked in her favor. Her hope is that the program brings new experiences and guidance on a path in a field that she loves as she is doing what is best for her future. The staff at Daughters of Zion was very welcoming and very nice. Follow your dreams and be focused is Ms Grayer’s word of encouragement to the youth of Shelby County. She is new to the CNA field and the class will be a challenge but she plans on staying the course.
Daughters of Zion can assist you with accomplishing your dreams of having a career and being in the healthcare field. Please call 901-570-3220 for more information.
Charline Murrell
Takeiya Grayer