WIT Program Alumnae

Welcome Back, WITster!

Over six weeks with the WIT Program, you set yourself a goal and created a strategic plan to meet that goal. Through our curriculum you learned to identify your strengths and skills and how to leverage those strengths and skills to meet your goals. You also identified a network of support to help you reach that goal. However, despite your best efforts and detailed plans, you may once again find yourself in a time of evolution.

As part of your support network, we offer some Wisdom, Inspiration, and ways to Thrive to support your journey to personal fulfillment and self-advocacy.

Wisdom

"Real change, enduring change, happens one step at a time." - Ruth Bader Ginsburg (U.S. Supreme Court Judge, 1993-2020)

Do you remember when all the work you put in started to come together? You were able to see a way forward. The road map began with your S.M.A.R.T. goals.

Revisit those goals. Are they Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Timely?

Do they still align with your goal and purpose? If either has changed, rewrite the goals. Go back to your WIT workbook.

Make one specific and manageable step forward. One phone call, one appointment, one action.

The journey begins with one step forward. Start walking.

Inspiration

"We delight in the beauty of the butterfly but rarely admit the changes it has gone through to achieve that beauty." - Maya Angelou (award-winning poet and civil rights activist)

Janaki Swar Upadhaya completed the WIT program in 2024. Her time with us raised her confidence in her ability to navigate a new country and culture, and thrive in her new community.

"As a first-generation immigrant from a rural village in Nepal, attending college in a new country felt like a distant dream. Family obligations and cultural expectations overshadowed my ambitions, making me doubt I could pursue education beyond high school. However, everything changed with the Women in Transition (WIT) Program. Not only did it provide me with a scholarship to continue my studies, but it also became a source of continuous support. Since the very start, WIT's open atmosphere, workshops, and mentorship allowed me to believe in myself and aim higher. I learned to put myself first, build communication skills, and embrace new cultural practices while working at the same time from home.

At times, balancing family obligations and classwork felt like an impossible task. But the compassion, human understanding, and encouragement of WIT's teachers, facilitators, and entire staff helped me through it all. Their faith in me made me realize I wasn't alone, and their own experiences encouraged me to see obstacles as opportunities for development. WIT not only changed my life but also taught us the power of community and compassion in truly pushing us forward."

Thrive

"The purpose of life is to love it, to taste experience to the utmost, to reach out eagerly and without fear for newer and richer experience." - Eleanor Roosevelt (longest serving First Lady of the United States, diplomat and activist)

Marla Myers completed WIT in 2019 and went on to complete the Conflict Resolution and Peace Studies certificate. She also served as our Alumni Student Speaker at the Spring 2026 WIT graduation ceremony.

"I am truly grateful for the Wisdom Inspire Thrive (WIT) program at Cuyahoga Community College. The program has been a blessing and an important part of my journey toward personal growth.

The WIT program helped me understand that no matter what challenges I have faced in life, I still have the ability to grow, learn, and rebuild. It helped me recognize my strengths and gave me a new perspective on possibilities for my future. WIT is a place of hope, healing, learning, and new beginnings – not to mention, wonderful fellowship and friendships!

My experiences with the program inspired me to enroll in one of the Tri-C certificate programs – Conflict Resolution. I learned techniques to engage in conflict in a healthy way instead of running away from it. The benefits have surpassed my expectations both personally and professionally. After finishing the program, I sensed a new sparkle and passion for recruiting. Along with that came a new job opportunity! Today, I serve as the Talent Acquisition Manager for a top 300 public accounting firm and am blessed with the opportunity to recruit from Tri-C!!! What a blessing to give back to the same institution that encouraged and educated me!

The Conflict Resolution and Peace Studies program is a short-term certificate that teaches communication skills and conflict resolution strategies at all scales. This includes responding to interpersonal, one-on-one conflict, all the way up to social movements and international disputes. Participants can expect to grow their communication styles, listening skills, and deescalation strategies to feel confident in responding to every type of conflict.

--Jordan Cottrill, Program Coordinator

We are WITsters Forever

"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure." - Marianne Williamson

Having spent six weeks with you, we know you are powerful and have big dreams. Your growth continues after you leave us. Let us know how those dreams are building and how you are stepping into your power.