Title
To honor, recognize, and celebrate the perseverance and achievements of Ms. Kelli Rudie - the 2017 New Directions Career Center Woman of Promise.
Body
WHEREAS, New Directions Career Center (NDCC) has been empowering women in transition to achieve and maintain self-sufficiency since 1980 - each April, NDCC recognizes an outstanding graduate who has obtained the toolkit of skills learned at the Center and used them to build a new life for herself and her family - exemplifying the qualities of an empowered woman: confidence, courage, hope, focus, and success in accordance with her own personal definition - this year the New Directions Career Center is proud to recognize Ms. Kelli Rudie as the 2017 Woman of Promise honoree; and
WHEREAS, Kelli struggled to support herself and her family - she left a career as a special education teacher to pursue work as a home health care aide; however this didn’t reduce her struggles, so Kelli began pursing alternative employment without much success - however Kelli’s determination to be self-sufficient and improve her ailing physical and emotional health never wavered; and
WHEREAS, In 2015, Kelli felt as if she was out of options - determined to persevere, she began to attend programs at NDCC - programs that ultimately helped her to develop a vision of the career woman she wanted to be - in time, she emerged with a renewed sense of acceptance, hope, and confidence - Kelli left the NDCC with a purpose, a career goal, a new strategy for resiliency in navigating the work world, and an ongoing support system; and
WHEREAS, Kelli’s graduation from NDCC was not the end of her journey - she continued to take advantage NDCC’s myriad of services and was quickly hired as a full-time Office Manager with benefits at Xanitos, which supports a local hospital - the position also allows her to use her influence to hire and refer job opportunities to encourage and assist other NDCC graduates in their employment search; and
WHEREAS, NDCC defines a Woman of Promise as someone who has used the information, resources, and encouragement obtained at NDCC to not only transform their lives, but to affect positive change in the lives of those around them - today Kelli works incredibly hard in this role, she is confident, has a successful career, and is an inspiration to women in the community; now therefore,
BE IT RESOLVED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF COLUMBUS: That this Council does hereby honor, recognize, and celebrate the perseverance and achievements of Ms. Kelli Rudie - the 2017 New Directions Career Center Woman of Promise.