Redwan is an immigrant from Syria who arrived in the USA with his family in November of 2022.
Redwan was a certified Ophthalmologist and Eye Surgeon in Syria, performing various surgical procedures such as cataract surgery, LASIK surgery, and glaucoma surgery.
He quickly realized that getting back into his professional field in the U.S would take a lot of work. He met with the Vocational Services Director, Oxana, quite regularly to map out his plan. Redwan took the first step by enrolling in the ELL program at FVTC and worked hard on improving his spoken and written skills in English.
As a Road to Work program participant, he learned about American work culture, polished his resume writing skills, and gained interviewing skills. Additionally, he was actively applying for jobs in the area of his expertise. WALC helped him connect with Aurora Medical Center in Fond Du Lac, who had an open position as an Optometric Ophthalmic Technician. Redwan quickly jumped to step two of his strategic plan – preparing a strong resume and getting ready for his first interview. He went through three rounds of interviews with the panel. It was clear that the interviewers were impressed with Redwan’s background knowledge, skills, and experience. He was extremely prepared; he knew his role and what was expected of him. The panel acknowledged Redwan’s expertise and recognized his potential. They just needed him to get better at English to be able to perform this role with confidence. Although Redwan did not land that job, he said it had been a valuable interviewing experience and it motivated him to invest more time in practicing his English.
In June of 2023, Redwan applied for a position as an Optician with Shopko Optical in Oshkosh and had a successful interview with the company. He made an exceptional impression on the interviewing team and was offered a job, starting the position at the end of July 2023.
Redwan is now working full-time and says that he is learning a lot about the American healthcare system, health insurance, and customer interaction, which will increase his chances for success in the future. Redwan’s next step is to continue on this path and has dreams of becoming an Optometrist and obtaining a license for practicing.
Redwan is incredibly grateful for all the assistance he got from the Vocational Services Director at WALC and is enthusiastic about proving that he has the skills to be a valuable part of this community’s workforce. We wish Redwan success in his future endeavors!
