Blossoms on the tree in Cindy's yard.
In her role as Workforce Development Specialist, Cindy Sloan works with clients on finding suitable career pathways and the right steps to successfully follow them. Whether clients need test-taking tips, resume assistance, or funding assistance, Cindy is ready to help. She works with Tai Basilius, Deputy Director - Career Center, to find quality trainings that will support the needs and goals of each individual.
“What I love about this job is when people really are in the place where they’re ready to make changes,” Cindy says. “And we help them figure out how to enact those changes.”
A flower and a bee in Cindy's yard.
Cindy can almost always relate to her clients because of her own experiences with working in a wide variety of jobs—from a grocery store and dry cleaning to factories and farmwork. She even had her own piercing studio and had begun to learn how to tattoo. She grew up in a working-class family, so work was work. “With my friends and my family, career wasn’t really in our vocabulary. Work was in our vocabulary.”
Although Cindy was gifted as a young student, she did not yet perceive the connection between her academic abilities and her future. “I didn’t see any purpose in [my education].” That kind of guidance was not in her life at the time, and she dropped out of high school at 16 years old.
Cindy then earned her GED and later discovered that she could receive student aid to attend Tompkins Cortland Community College (TC3). At TC3, her interest in academia was sparked. She graduated with her associate’s degree and applied to colleges such as Wells College and SUNY Stony Brook. She was accepted into all of them but ultimately decided to stay close to home and attend SUNY Cortland, partly to care for her mother and partly to stay in the familiar community she grew up in.
Upon graduating from SUNY Cortland, a department chair at TC3 reached out to offer a part-time teaching position. As an adjunct professor, Cindy enjoyed providing guidance to students through the challenges they faced on their own journeys.
“I look back on my life and I know without the handful of great helpers, from the Youth Bureau, the County, and TC3, I wouldn’t be where I am today,” Cindy says. “I came across great helpers, and I want to emulate that.”
Cindy Sloan, Workforce Development Specialist at Tompkins County.
She enjoyed her experience as an adjunct professor for many years, but she decided to explore a career in civil service, which offered her many benefits and more job security. She took some exams and found that she excelled. She was hired at Cortland County first as a social welfare examiner and later as a caseworker.
After finding that these were not the right fit, she applied for positions at Tompkins County Workforce Development and eventually accepted her current position as Workforce Development Specialist in 2019. She has been a valued part of the team ever since.
"I understand the struggle when you could do better but you’re just not sure how to get there. You want to climb the ladder, but you can’t find the rungs,” she says. “I just want to be someone who helps people find the rungs.”
|
