luckys kimi-at-luckys

(Above: Kimi and her supervisor Erica at Lucky’s Market in Jackson, Wyoming (left) and Kimi with her young son.)

When Kimi, a participant in Climb Wyoming’s Office Careers program, began interviewing for new jobs at the end of her training, it caught her current employer’s attention.

Kimi was already a solid employee working hard at Lucky’s Market in Jackson, Wyoming to make ends meet as a single mom with a toddler.

“We were living at the local shelter,” says Kimi. “I don’t drive, so it was a lot to get to Climb and hold down a job at the same time.”

“Kimi had a vision for what she wanted out of life—and was able to get after it.”

Once Kimi started Climb, her supervisor Erica McNaughton noticed some real changes in her. “I took note of how much self-confidence she suddenly had,” says Erica. “She believed in herself. She’d been knocked down before. I was impressed with the leadership training Climb gave her.”

Kimi’s Office Careers training added new job skills in QuickBooks™ and Microsoft Office™.

The life-skills classes included parenting, nutrition and effective communication, and she also received individual and group counseling with a licensed therapist.

As Kimi looked at the new and expanded job opportunities awaiting her after Climb, Lucky’s Market regrouped and decided to offer her a promotion to Assistant Culinary Manager, including a 64% increase in her hourly wage and the opportunity to manage an entire culinary team of up to 15 people.

“Now I’m no longer on state assistance,” Kimi says. “It makes me feel good! We’ve moved out of the shelter. I have daycare for my son. I want to be able to move up in management and be a store director one day.”

“Before Climb, I feel like Kimi just worked,” says Erica. “Now we get to see her real personality. I have no doubts in her abilities. She came out of Climb very solution-oriented, and that’s a great skill. She had a vision for what she wanted out of life—and was able to get after it. We’re lucky to have her.”