When Neoplan laid him off after 23 years of building buses, Jimmy Cardinelli embarked on the only career transition that made sense.
He decided to become a nurse.
Cardinelli took advantage of a Colorado Community College System whose enrollment has surged 11.5 percent with the recent economic downturn — a number that suggests many others also have sought tools to carve out a second career.
After tailoring his study at Lamar Community College to a field that caught his interest during 20 years as a volunteer firefighter, he passed his nursing boards in May. He then found work at the nearby Bent County Correctional Facility.
It took three hard years of juggling family, finances and study, but at 51, he makes significantly more than he did at Neoplan. The prison job actually has a sweeter compensation package than some hospitals.
“It’s a different type of nursing,” Cardinelli said. “You’ve got to learn to do things a little different with inmates. But it’s still nursing, and I enjoy it.”
Through 13 community-college campuses, more Coloradans are seizing the relatively low-cost avenue to retrain in new areas after long-held careers disintegrated. The system has seen a particular spike in nursing programs but also in fields such as criminal justice, child development and information technology.
Options run from bricklaying to business management, with an annual average full-time tuition of $2,605.
Cardinelli could have chased jobs out of state or turned to over-the-road trucking, but he didn’t want to leave the community where he grew up and helped rear his children — and more than a dozen foster kids.
He asked local banks to restructure his loans so his family could get by on his wife’s salary. With no income of his own, he qualified for scholarships and student loans.
Stimulus funds to boost grants
Future students will have more options. By July, the economic-stimulus package will have increased maximum annual Pell grants by $500 to $5,350. Federally backed loan programs, which bogged down last year as banks became reluctant to participate, now feature direct government lending.
“Through that two-pronged approach, we’ve resolved some of the affordability problems,” said Nancy McCallin, president of the Colorado Community College System.
Many students turn to community colleges to start post-secondary education at a fraction of the cost of four-year schools. But about one-third of the state’s enrollment involves technical education.
It was IT that drew Mike Van Valen to Community College of Aurora when his job as a baggage handler at United Airlines, and subsequent gigs in retail and as an electrical apprentice, dried up in 2006.
After speaking to a career counselor, he learned the Stapleton office of the Denver Workforce Center could set him up with a $4,000 scholarship toward IT certification — if he could finish the program in one year. He jumped on it, taking 24 credits in the spring semester, 27 over the summer and 24 in the fall.
“I was definitely motivated,” said Van Valen, a 52-year-old Denver resident. “I lived at school.”
Now he works at CH2M Hill, a global engineering and construction company. Although he figures he makes about $5,000 less a year than he did after topping out on United’s pay scale, this job promises greater earning potential.
Van Valen hopes to transfer his CCA work to Regis University and earn a degree in network management, where salaries hover in the $65,000 range.
But he fully understands how daunting the prospect of reinventing one’s work life can be.
“Beyond the depression that sets in, it’s like swimming with no life raft,” he said. “It started out extremely difficult, but when I stopped thinking about it, stopped worrying about my age and focused more on the work, it became easier.”
Now that he’s working again, his wife has enrolled in CCA’s human-resource-management program.
“When the economy is bad, it’s the opportune time to go back and get more education,” Van Valen said. “So when the economy comes back, you have the paper in place to do what you want to do.”
Teaching “a natural fit”
For Roxanne Elsner, 47, it was all a matter of turning her layoff from a bank, where she had worked for 27 years, into an opportunity to do something she loves — in fact, something she’d previously done for free.
Elsner had always felt drawn to teaching, whether as a volunteer at church or through her kids’ scouting activities. Suddenly, she had the chance to seek the qualifications to do it professionally.
“There was no question in my mind — teaching was a natural fit for me,” said Elsner, who lives in Littleton.
She’s enrolled at Arapahoe Community College working toward an associate’s degree; she’ll transfer to Metropolitan State College of Denver in the fall. There, she plans to earn a bachelor’s in behavioral science and a teaching license.
“If people can just stop and look at it from an opportunity perspective, it’s a healthier approach,” she said.
That wasn’t so easy for 57-year-old Carol Rhoads, who has been the sole breadwinner since her husband went on disability. She’d worked 19 years as a health-claims examiner when she was laid off last month.
“I was kind of panicked,” she said. “I didn’t know what I’d do. I thought I’d lose my job, the house, everything.”
But by living off severance plus pay for unused vacation, she could afford to enroll in a nine-month program in medical transcription — transcribing notes from doctors’ offices, hospital charts and other medical reports. It seemed a good way to build on her familiarity with medical terminology from her previous job.
After getting her certification, Rhoads hopes to start her own business from home, working with hospitals, individual doctors and labs.
But for now, she’s gathering herself for the plunge back into academia.
“I’ve had all this experience,” Rhoads said, “but I’ve forgotten basic things — school things. It’s been a long time since I was there.”
Kevin Simpson: 303-954-1739 or ksimpson@denverpost.com
Reinventing a career on a budget
To explore new opportunities through the Colorado Community College System:
ON THE WEB
From the main page, click on “What’s Available” to learn about more than 800 programs in a variety of fields. Other tabs offer information on campus locations, how to pay for school and a checklist for getting started.
BY TELEPHONE
Call any of the 13 campuses directly to speak to an adviser:
Arapahoe Community College (Littleton): Academic advising, 303-797-5664; main number, 303-797-4222
Colorado Northwestern Community College (Rangely, Craig): General inquiries, 800-562-1105; main number, 970-675-2261
Community College of Aurora: Help center, 303-360-4700
Community College of Denver: Recruitment coordinator, 303-556-6200; main number, 303-556-2400
Front Range Community College: Westminster campus, 303-404-5438; Boulder campus, 303-678-3628; Larimer campus, 970-204-8305; main number, 303-404-5000
Lamar Community College: Student services, 1-800-968-6920; main number, 719-336-2248
Morgan Community College (Fort Morgan): Admissions, 970-542-3169; main number, 970-542-3100
Northeastern Junior College (Sterling): Advising center, 970-521-7000; main number, 970-521-6600
Otero Junior College (La Junta): Student services, 719-384-6833; main number, 719-384-6831
Pikes Peak Community College (Colorado Springs): Career planning and advising, 719-502-3232; main number, 719-502-3000
Pueblo Community College: Student services, 719-549-3046; main number, 719-549-3200
Red Rocks Community College (metro Denver): Advising office, 303-914-6255; main number, 303-914-6000
Trinidad State Junior College (Trinidad/Alamosa): Student services office, 719-846-5621; main number, 719-846-5011
TUITION
Annual average for a full-time student is $2,605. Additional fees may apply, depending on the college.
FINANCIAL AID
A variety of grants and student loans are available — with more options on the way via the economic- stimulus package. Details can be found on the system website through the “How to Pay” tab on the home page and by phone through advisers on the individual campuses.
Source: Colorado Community College System
