Philly Alum’s TikTok Post About Propel Goes Viral
Last week, Propel Fellow Jazmeen Chisholm posted about her Propel America fellowship experience on TikTok, and, within days, her video received over 33,000 views! Because of her success, Propel selected her to be our inaugural Social Media Ambassador.
In her post, she shared all that this Fellowship has meant for her and her life path, and we're beyond grateful she chose to share her authentic experience with her followers and thousands more.
Jazmeen Chisholm's TikTok post recommending Propel America's medical assistant training program has received over 33,000 views!
Jazmeen graduated from Propel’s Fall 2023 cohort of Medical Assistants in Philadelphia earlier this summer and was hired in July with Temple Health, one of the region’s top hospital systems and a closer employer partner of Propel’s.
In her new role, Jazmeen will be working at Temple Main Hospital, on their new multi-specialty floor with HIV patients, as well as patients in their burn unit and weight-management clinic.
Jazmeen gave the valedictory speech at a graduation ceremony we held on July 9th, at the Philadelphia Ethical Society to honor and recognize our Summer and Fall 2023 Philadelphia and Camden, NJ Medical Assistant Fellows.
At that event, 40+ Fellows were awarded a completion certificate for successfully fulfilling the requirements of our Fellowship program.
They celebrated their achievement, joined by Propel coaches, instructors, staff, and their peers. Propel’s Chief of Operations, Debra Kurshan, addressed the Fellows, and Coach Hassan Munford, as well as Julia Horn, Propel’s Director of Growth Strategy, and Maurice White, Propel’s Recruitment Manager for Philadelphia.
Why Propel?
In another conversation that we shared on Instagram, we spoke with Jazmeen about her experience in the program. She shared that she had been enrolled in another medical assistant training program in 2018, but that program abruptly closed two months prior to completion.
She learned about Propel through an Instagram post, and she was attracted to the flexibility that Propel’s program provided with online classes. She also valued the hands-on experience she would receive through Propel’s externship offering.
In this clip recorded outside our graduation event, Jazmeen shares more about how the fellowship prepared her for success as a Medical Assistant, and why she would recommend it to her peers.
Jazmeen Chisholm, Philadelphia Medical Assistant, Fall 2023 Cohort Valedictorian, Propel America
Overcoming Challenges
Jazmeen noted, in that same clip, that she had to learn some time management skills so she could achieve work-school-life balance during the program.
She said: “Everything from the exam preparation, externship, skills labs, everything was top tier. I would recommend this program to anybody who’s looking to go into the medical assistant field.”
In her address to her fellow graduates, she shared memories of their hard work to complete the program, including “long nights of studying, using index cards, learning medical terminology, internship paperwork, vaccinations, Covid shots, and background checks while you were working tirelessly to feed yourselves and your families.”
Filled with gratitude, Jazmeen paid a very special tribute: “To my son, thank you for pushing me without even knowing it. Thank you for being patient with me when I couldn’t play or watch a movie with you. You are the reason for living. You are my reason for striving. I love you.”
Many Propel Fellows like Jazmeen must overcome major life challenges to complete the program, including meeting childcare needs, and the high costs associated with housing, transportation, and food.
Coaching for Self-Confidence
One of the most fulfilling aspects of the Propel fellowship is how it helps graduates build their self-confidence and overcome obstacles.
Hassan Munford, Hire Ready Coach at Propel, talked about this aspect of the fellowship program, and some of what he’s learned in his role working with the young people, helping them realize their goals. He said, “They come to you with a dream. You support and assist, and help them hold themselves accountable to move forward to being hire ready.” Hassan shares more about coaching at Propel here.
“To my son, thank you for pushing me without even knowing it. Thank you for being patient with me when I couldn’t play or watch a movie with you. You are the reason for living. You are my reason for striving. I love you.”
Jazmeen praised her fellow graduates for “choosing yourselves and not letting anybody stop you from moving forward and being proud of yourselves.”
To loud, enthusiastic cheers, she concluded her address: “You can now look back and say the journey getting there was worth it.”
Propel is grateful to Jazmeen and her peers for persevering and achieving their goals through hard work; to our coaching team for their tireless support of our Fellows; and to our training and employer partners, including Temple Health, for partnering with us to provide rewarding career pathways for young people in Philadelphia, that in turn, help address critical talent shortages in the healthcare industry.
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