Heartland Community College in Normal celebrated the graduates of a program giving better access to higher-paying jobs.
The Workforce Equity Initiative [WEI] is a partnership of the Illinois Community College Board, the Illinois Legislative Black Caucus and 20 community colleges across Illinois. The program works to create, support and expand job training opportunities for areas with identified workforce skills gaps.
Heartland held a ceremony Tuesday for more than 40 graduates of the program which takes around 13 weeks to complete, depending on the course. Heartland offers 15 courses, such as electric vehicle technology, welding, HVAC and certified nursing assistant.
Heartland President Keith Cornille said it has brought in an economic impact of $4.6 million for McLean County since the program’s first year in 2022.
“We are in the business of getting students an opportunity where sometimes they are not,” said Tommy Johnson, Workforce Equity Initiative success navigator. “Whether it's going to tutoring, seeking counseling, having any kind of issues at home, a lot of traditional colleges do not offer those kind of supports, but what WEI does is kind of hone in on that, trying to reduce those barriers.”
The ceremony included graduates from the program taking the stage to receive certificates marking their achievement.
LaJuana Burks graduated from the program after studying phlebotomy, the study of blood. Burks’ daughter, Cynthia McDonald, had graduated the program already for nursing and EMT studies, and is now working on an associate degree with Heartland. McDonald then convinced her mother to join the program herself.

“She put her life on hold, of course, because she had us young, and she wanted to do something around the lines of healthcare and forensics. So when I had seen that they had a lot of certificate programs, I told her that she should do it,” said McDonald.
“At first she was hesitant, because she was raising two daughters, and then my baby, a grandchild. So she was like, ‘Well, right now I can't because of work.' And so when we kept talking about it, and we, like, figured out what we're gonna do, I finally finished, and then she tried, and she was like, ‘OK, we're gonna do this’.”
Before Burks took part in the program, she had spent 18 years driving buses for Connect Transit and First Student. Now Burks has a job with Illinois State University. Starting next year, she will work at the Student Health Services laboratory.
“For anybody that's wanting to go back to school and needs that help, they should definitely do this program,” said Burks. “They’re very hands on, and they help you to accomplish all your goals.”