Lynette Sapp was struggling. She had overcome substance abuse and personal issues for over 23 years and she wanted more out of life. Her drive started with the pursuit of her education and a brand-new career. Although Lynette was enrolled at Daley College, she wasn’t finding any satisfaction in the classes. She felt like she was drifting. Lynette heard about National Able Network from her husband and a friend who had Cheryl Travis, as their career coach. She was intrigued and decided to attend an information session.

“One day, Lynette’s inner self told her ‘you are done with this, let’s do something different,’” said her career coach Cheryl Travis. “From that day forward, Lynette made a decision that life had something to offer.”

As she saw all the career opportunities available, she chose to pursue training for her Commercial Driver’s License, or CDL. Lynette said, “What guided me to make the decision of pursuing my CDL was seeing female truck drivers on the road, and my husband is a truck driver working for the City of Chicago.” Lynette was intimidated by the CDL program at first. “When I failed the math and reading part of the test, it was overwhelming for me,” Lynette said. “I almost felt like giving up but I said to myself, ‘I know how to read and do math!’”

Cheryl also provided encouragement. “She said to me ‘don’t give up on your career’ and told me about the tutoring opportunities,” Lynette said. With that support, Lynette continued through the course and earned her CDL! “I am so proud of Lynette,” Cheryl said. “She is amazing. Lynette was apprehensive at first about beginning a new career but she was determined.”

Lynette is excited too. “I recently landed an interview with Pace Bus company after passing a test, and my job prospects have increased after getting my CDL. I have employers like Snyder reaching out to recruit me,” she said.

Lynette’s advice for other job seekers who are trying to start their careers is: “I would tell them not to give up and keep doing what you have to do. It will happen for you, but you have to be willing to do the work.”