Nadine Magana

Nadine Magana surprised herself when she enrolled in Coastline Community College’s Human Services program in 2014. Describing herself as a “wife, mother of 4 and over 40” she says she thought she was crazy at the time. However, when her family began to experience a financial squeeze after her 17-year career in retail was interrupted by a work-related injury, her sister-in-law encouraged her to contact College Connect to investigate a new career. “Amador College Connect and the MHSA Scholarship program were the reasons I even tried to go back to school. Financially, I was in a tight spot and would have never returned to school had there not been the scholarship program,” Nadine explained. The MHSA Human Services Scholarship program that Nadine participated in is administered by Amador College Connect and funded by the Amador County Behavioral Health Department. Scholarships are awarded on an ongoing basis to qualifying individuals wanting to earn a certificate in Human Services. Nadine completed her A.A. degree in 2017 and is now employed as a Youth Services Program Manager at Nexus Youth and Family Services in Jackson. She particularly appreciated the Scholarship Cohort program through which she was able to connect with other students and benefit from additional training in human services. Nadine explains, “It was quite a journey and I never would have been able to do this without Amador College Connect.”