SECOND SHIFT · FROM THE FIELD
Santa Cruz County, California · Health care · Adult diploma and medical assisting training
Original reporting: Hillary Ojeda, Lookout Santa Cruz · September 21, 2026
Rebeca Reyes had her first baby by age 19 and dropped out of high school. She went on to work in banking and stayed there until she was laid off from Wells Fargo in 2023, Lookout Santa Cruz reports.
“During COVID, the market started getting kind of weird … I felt lost for a moment,” Reyes, now 39, told Lookout. She also wanted to set an example for her daughter, then in high school.
That fall, Reyes enrolled in the Career Advancement Charter, a free diploma program for adults run by the Santa Cruz County Office of Education, and finished just months later. She then completed the county office’s medical assisting program in May 2025 while taking courses at Cabrillo College, which she has since finished. She is now working as a medical assistant for Dignity Health Dominican Hospital while she applies to nursing programs.
“It’s never too late to go back to school and get a degree,” Reyes said.
According to Lookout, the charter program has grown from 58 students in 2021 to 251 this past academic year. A county education spokesperson told the newsroom that about 25,000 county residents don’t have a high school diploma.
Location Decision takeaway
A missing diploma is a hard ceiling in credential-driven fields like health care. Reyes’ path shows how a flexible adult diploma program can become the first rung of a health care career ladder. By the county’s own estimate, some 25,000 local adults lack a diploma, which points to a large, mostly untapped pool of potential health care workers.
Second Shift tells the stories of people building what’s next through new skills, new careers and second chances. From the Field items are curated from credited reporting, with Location Decision’s perspective. Location Decision Originals are independently reported by our team.
Curated by Location Decision. Originally reported by Hillary Ojeda, Lookout Santa Cruz, September 21, 2026.
This item was sourced and drafted with AI assistance and reviewed under Location Decision’s editorial standards. Second Shift tracks workforce outcomes to inform our broader editorial analysis. All reporting belongs to the credited journalists; read the original story for the full account.