Georgette

Georgette is the Manager of STARs Engagement & Enablement at Opportunity@Work, where she helps uplift workers Skilled Through Alternative Routes (STARs) by building pathways for visibility, confidence, and community. Her career has spanned industries—from accounting and healthcare to banking and utilities—and each role has strengthened her ability to connect with people, lead with empathy, and communicate with purpose. Today, she channels those same skills into empowering others to recognize their own value and navigate career growth with courage.

Georgette’s path wasn’t linear. As a parent balancing work and education, she often had to pause her college journey to prioritize family and financial stability. Despite excelling in every role she held, she was frequently passed over for advancement because she didn’t have a bachelor’s degree—a reality many STARs face under the “paper ceiling.” Those challenges, though difficult, taught her resilience and adaptability, shaping her understanding of the barriers that hold so many talented workers back.

Her breakthrough came when she decided to stop waiting for the “perfect opportunity” and instead take a chance on herself. That mindset shift opened new doors—to leadership, impact, and purpose. Now at Opportunity@Work, Georgette uses her lived experience to help other STARs see that their nontraditional paths are not limitations but their greatest strengths. Her message to others: “You are the blueprint for what is possible.”

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Micah

Find out how Army veteran Micah built his own business from the ground up and how problem-solving became the foundation of everything he's built.

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Sean

See how Sean's STAR status led to his thriving career as a 3D chalk artist and ice and snow sculptor on his own terms.

Sean

Lakisha

See how Lakisha built a successful administrative career through sheer work ethic and the hard-won confidence to know her own worth.

Lakisha

Mark

Find out how a childhood love of food inspired Mark's culinary management career, built entirely through empathy, practice, and hard work.

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Dalton

See how Dalton is building two careers at once through hands-on learning and how he's channeling his emergency response skills into a growing media platform.

Dalton

Erika

Read about how Erika's STAR status and hands-on experience earned her a quality Technician role and how she continues to defy expectations every day.

Erika

Sam

See how Sam applied decades of relentless curiosity and hands-on learning into a career that defies any single job title.

Sam

Jamie

Find out how a work-study program became the launchpad for Jamie's career.

Jamie

Thaddaeus

Read about how Thaddaeus's STAR status landed him a position as a university IT Specialist, where his self-taught tech skills and passion for helping others are his greatest credentials.

Thaddaeus

Kent

See how Army veteran Kent built an entire tech career through mentorship, persistence, and problem solving.

Kent

Laura

Read how Laura's willingness to keep learning is the credential that keeps opening doors.

Laura

Katy

Find out how Katy made one of the most unexpected career leaps around, and now helps others do the same.

Katy

Lynnette

See how Lynnette turned a hobby into a business while embracing entrepreneurship in retirement.

Lynnette

Barbara

Find out how Barbara's STAR status guided her career within the nonprofit sector and how lived experience can be the most powerful credential of all.

Barbara

Carmen

Find out how Carmen is building toward owning her own home health agency, one skill at a time, without a four-year degree.

Carmen

Quinn

See how military veteran Quinn is challenging employers to value experience over credentials.

Quinn

Daquan

Read how Daquan's self-taught skills as a home health aide and carpenter built a career that no one can ever take away from him.

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Tadarius

Find out how Tadarius turned a moment of crisis into a calling, guided by lived experience and hard-earned certifications.

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Mary

Read about Mary's philosophy on people-first leadership and how integrity and empathy can define a career, even without a degree.

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Elizabeth

See how Elizabeth found her calling as an employment counselor, helping formerly incarcerated job seekers reclaim their futures.

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Debrena

Find out how self-advocacy and a self-taught mindset launched Debrena's QA engineering career.

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Courtney

Find out how Courtney made the career leap from construction to IT client services.

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Ricky

See how learning to fail became Ricky's secret to building a career in acting and coaching.

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Robert

See how Robert's work ethic carried him from a skate shop to corporate merchandising and shaped him into an empathetic leader.

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Carol

See how Carol built an art business entirely on her own terms by utilizing her strong work ethic and on-the-job experience.

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Reyna

Read about how Reyna's STAR status is leading her path toward computer science and a dream of building a platform for low-income youth, powered entirely by grit and on-the-job learning.

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Sharon

After observing how firms overlooked colleagues without degrees, see how Sharon transitioned into her role as Billing Coordinator by investing in herself at every turn.

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Erin

Read about how Erin's STAR status landed her a position as an Internal Audit Manager... without a bachelor's degree.

Erin

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