Success Stories

Brittany Broman: NC Governor’s Award Winner

brittany_storyBrittany Broman is a dedicated and loyal Get REAL youth program participant, student, employee, and parent. Knowing the challenges she would face of being a young single parent, her goal was to obtain a degree and employment that would support her family.

Through her hard work and the support of Get REAL, she completed an Associate in Arts degree at Wilkes Community College in 2010 then continued her education at the university level. During the 2012-2013 program year, Brittany worked avidly toward the completion of her Bachelors of Social Work at Appalachian State University, making the Dean’s list for the fall semester of 2012. She also worked part-time as a kitchen shift supervisor at Laurel Ridge Camp, Conference, and Retreat Center in Laurel Springs where she continued to gain valuable transferrable skills.

In May 2013, Brittany graduated from ASU with a Bachelors of Social Work degree. During her last semester she also completed an internship with the Alleghany County Department of Social Services (DSS) where she successfully learned new skills and managed her own caseload. Due to her hard work and dedication, on May 28 Brittany started a full-time position with Alleghany County DSS as a Social Worker III in Children Services.

During the past year Brittany has gained an abundance of knowledge through her studies, her work, and Get REAL including ethical guidelines; understanding the justice system; interviewing skills; time management; and how to interact with others with an open mind without the interference of personal bias, values, and beliefs. Brittany has developed confidence in herself in being a mother and a professional on her journey to complete her four-year degree and obtain self-sufficiency.

Along with Brittany’s academic and employment accomplishments, she has remained an active participant in the Get REAL youth program working closely with her youth career coach. She regularly attended monthly Get REAL workshops – such as ones on resumes and self-awareness – as well as numerous one-on-one meetings, volunteer opportunities, and has been a role model for other participants.

Brittany believes in community service and giving back to the community. Within the past year, she has volunteered with the Ashe County Children’s Christmas Project in December of 2012 and assisted with cleaning garden beds and visiting with residents at Forest Ridge Assisted Living in April of 2013.

Brittany is very compassionate and exhibits this through volunteer work and concern for others. Courtney Hartzog, Brittany’s Career Coach, once asked her about her decision to pursue social work as a career. Brittany explained, “In addition to wanting to work with children and their families, I was inspired by my own experience in becoming a parent at eighteen, and I want to provide information and support to young women facing parenting and unintentional pregnancies.”

Brittany’s personal interests include being a mom, reading, hiking, swimming, and spending time in the outdoors as often as possible. She describes her strengths as her ability to remain calm, exhibit empathy, and act responsibly which she demonstrates on a daily basis.

Brittany received the North Carolina Governor’s Award for Excellence in Workforce Development at the North Carolina Workforce Development Partnership Conference in Greensboro on October 17, 2013.

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