Less than a year after completing a JVS program, Marianna has been promoted to a leadership position, where she works with incoming JVS interns.
When Marianna decided to pursue a new career path, she was searching for something specific: a program that was credible and could lead to long-term opportunities. “I was looking for a change, for something that I knew would help guide me into where I would be going for the next 20 years,” she recalls.
That search led her to JVS’s EXCEL Medical Administrative Assistant program. In late 2025, Marianna joined the 29th cohort of the program, run in partnership with UCSF. Along the way, she experienced a profound personal loss: her mother passed away just two days before the program began. Still, she wanted to keep the promise she made to her mother to finish. “I told her I was gonna do it, and now I gotta do it,” Marianna recalls.
Before taking EXCEL, Marianna built a career in government administration with the City and County of San Francisco, then spent a decade counseling young people in the city. She was drawn to healthcare as a field where she could apply her existing strengths in a new, more stable direction. “I wanted to do something where I could use my computer skills and my people skills, and that would land me a long-lasting career,” she explains.
While studying full-time, Marianna was also raising her two children. The program’s structure gave her the flexibility to pursue a career while staying present for her family. As she moved into her internship, the career path she envisioned began to take shape.
“There are a lot of programs out there that will say, ‘We’ll help you start a career,’ but this program really changed my life in such a short period of time,” she says. “I didn’t know what I was doing, and now I have a clear path.”
Marianna completed her internship in Radiation Oncology at UCSF and was hired as a temp before graduation. Within months, she secured a full-time permanent position. She’s since been promoted to Practice Coordinator III, supporting new breast cancer patients. “I went from just working the front desk to now leading the front,” she says. “Now I can see myself moving from the role in the front to in the back, learning more about the computer system and the workflows, and learning how to work directly for the doctors.” Marianna is already on her way to achieving that vision, supporting one of the medical doctors at her location who works with geriatric cancer patients.
That growth has come full circle: Marianna now mentors EXCEL interns in her own department, including one from the program’s 30th cohort. “It felt like I was paying it forward,” she says. “Just how I saw a possibility, she can see a possibility.”
Marianna also points to the support system built into the program, both from JVS staff and fellow participants, as central to her success. “My coach was super supportive. If there was a barrier, as long as you were upfront about it, they tried to help you figure it out,” she says. “We really were rooting for each other—calling each other, texting each other. If somebody was missing, we checked in to see if we could help support.”
For those considering the program, Marianna’s advice is direct. “Fill out that application, and if you get accepted, really give it your all and see where it takes you,” she advises. “I’ve been telling everybody to apply.”
