Student Story

For Chynna and her family, Seattle Goodwill’s powerful resources have become foundational to their immigration story and her success in adjusting to a new culture.

Chynna was the last one in her family to move from the Philippines to the U.S. when she arrived in Seattle in 2013. Chynna was excited to reunite with her relatives but felt self-conscious about her English-speaking ability and found starting a new career in a new place nerve-racking.

Luckily, Chynna’s family members knew a resource that could help her with job skills and a confidence boost. Chynna’s two uncles, aunt and father had all enrolled at Goodwill to help them prepare for work in their new country.

“When I got here, most of my family had gotten help from Goodwill,” Chynna said. “I got to Goodwill initially because I wanted to get more confident in getting my resume, how to get a job, how to prepare for an interview.”

“Goodwill helped our family a lot.”

Chynna enrolled in Goodwill’s Retail & Customer Service course. The class helped Chynna develop new job and people skills, and created a community environment that built Chynna’s confidence.

Nowadays, Chynna is in a much different place. She holds a leadership role as a Production Supervisor at Seattle Goodwill’s Capitol Hill store. Even seven years after graduating from Goodwill’s free Job Training and Education (JTE) program, Chynna and her family know Goodwill is always there to offer help.

Goodwill’s support through the COVID-19 pandemic reminded Chynna why she’s so driven to advance Goodwill’s mission through her work. When Goodwill temporarily closed stores, and put 90% of employees on standby, the JTE staff quickly found ways to connect with employees and worked tirelessly to provide helpful resources. Chynna filed for unemployment just fine, but some of her family were having trouble.

“Goodwill helped our family a lot,” Chynna said. “My uncle was having a problem and also my dad. There was something going on. It was months before they could actually get their unemployment. We really needed the money, and Goodwill really helped us with a lot of those resources. They made the time smooth for us.”

Chynna and her Capitol Hill store have been open for months now, and she’s excited to continue growing in her career and happy to support an organization that she believes in so much.