Mohamed Jouni, a 19 year-old student at Wayne State University, had long been fascinated with toxicology. However, he knew that if he was going to one day make a career out of his passion, acquiring professional experience was a good place to start.
“I knew that if I could learn some basics about what it was really like to work as a toxicologist, it would help give me a leg up in my courses and in my path towards a career. I came to ACCESS, and, after telling the caseworkers about my career interests, they told me to give their pharmacy technician training a try,” Mohamed said.
ACCESS offered Mohamed the opportunity to gain skills specific to work in a pharmacy setting. This youth-focused training program, conducted in collaboration with the Southeast Michigan Community Alliance (SEMCA) and made possible by grant funding provided by Bank of America, also instructed students on how to develop themselves professionally.
“I learned a ton! They taught me how to identify brand name versus generic drugs and how drugs are classified. They showed me what my options were in toxicology employment settings. They even taught me how to put together my resume and send it out to employers,” Mohamed said.
With the help of these trainings, Mohamed recently received a pharmacy technician’s license. Mohamed’s new knowledge of pharmacy science also gave him an edge in his university courses, bringing him one step closer to his goal of becoming a toxicologist.
“I’ve made huge strides in my courses. My cousin, who is studying pharmacy, saw how much progress I’ve made in these trainings, and now he’s interested in participating in them too. Also, while before I had a general interest in toxicology, these trainings sparked my interest in pursuing pharmaceutical toxicology specifically,” Mohamed said.
Confidently on track to making the career of his dreams a reality, Mohamed has some reassuring words for those who still need a little extra encouragement to overcome their doubts about participating in these trainings at ACCESS.
“Anyone interested in achieving their career goals should participate in these trainings. You’re going to learn a ton, you’ll have great instructors, and you will gain first-hand insight into what you’ll be doing on the job. The trainings I participated in at ACCESS gave me all the information I needed to make an informed decision about how to pursue my career. It’s a great program,” he said.
