Moving from Madagascar to the United States and leaving behind a 15-year career as a lawyer, Ony and her husband’s decision to give their daughters better opportunities in the U.S. came with a price. It took longer than anticipated to begin working in law and Ony was desperate to provide for her family.

Not sure where to turn, she decided to apply for NVFS’ Training Futures in an effort to gain skills for employment as well as improve her English-speaking skills as she waited diploma validation. Had it not been from Training Futures’ support and training, Ony’s confidence in speaking English would have continue to wane and hindered her from finding employment.

“I was really uncomfortable with English to the point where I would avoid conversations over the phone at any cost,” said Ony. “The accent reduction classes, ice breakers, presentations and grammar classes were a tremendous help.”

Ony continued to step outside of her comfort zone, build confidence in herself and master the English language while enrolled with Training Futures. Today, Ony works full-time at Hogan Lovells as a Trademark Clerk and has full benefits.

“Because of Training Futures, I now have the opportunity to thrive in a prestigious legal practice, in a field that I belong to,” Ony added.