(NAPSA)—Women have a new resource—a Web site with open forums and social networking that can make it easier to achieve career goals. The www. WomenAchieve.org site, sponsored by Women Employed—a women’s advocacy or- ganization—and by the American InterContinental University (AIU), can be a useful resource for women who want to return to school or make a career change. The site can help visitors identify the right college or a better careerfit, as well as offer financial resources and support channels to make the dream moreachievable. The site also offers inspiring stories of women who overcame significant challenges to achieve their dream careers. Few women face as many challenges in pursuing their dream careers as Scarlett Martinez, a 25-year-old who juggled her full-time legal assistant job, a full college course, National Guard obligations and a 9-month-old daughter. Martinez has long been fascinated with fashion. When shetold her mother, Lucy Montesinos, of her dream, her mother began to cry and pulled out a box of her own designs and sketches. As a mother raising two children, Montesinos did not have the time or resources to become a designer. She was eager to support her daughter in their shared ambition. To get her fashion marketing and design degree, Martinez enrolled in AIU. Soon after, she faced another challenge. Her National Guard unit was called up to serve in Iraq. Unwilling to side- Scarlett Martinez, student at American InterContinental University. track her college studies, she enrolled in her school’s online campus and herInternet-based classes went well. She had to face another set- back. While on duty, she was shot and seriously injured, losing 10 percent of her eyesight. Martinez returned home and received the Purple Heart—a combat decoration honoring those wounded in action. But she faced financial challenges and took on a full-time job while continuing her studies and raising her daughter. These experiences might have stopped others in their tracks, but they strengthened Martinez’s resolve to graduate and launch her own clothing line. Expecting to graduate in the spring of 2010, she will pursue that dream. The WomenAchieve.org site was inspired by stories such as hers and the online community is designed to help women facing their own difficult situations. It serves as a support network and go-to resource. For more information, visit www.WomenAchieve.org.
