Annual Education and Training Recognition Ceremony celebrates members’ accomplishments.

Every year the TEF, which is the nation’s largest worker training initiative, holds a recognition ceremony to laud the Union’s graduates and their accomplishments. This year, over 900 members completed academic or upgrading programs.

“I stand here tonight representing more than myself,” said Myrneth Ragot, who graduated from the Mandl School College of Allied Health in New York City with her Associate in Applied Science. “I’m proud to speak on behalf of all of us who made it.”

Ragot, a mother of two young children, studied to be a respiratory therapist and will go to work at Mt. Sinai Queens Hospital. She thanked her husband for his support and told the story of coming the U.S. at age 14 to live with her biological father.

“My mother was right,” said Ragot, who was born in the Philippines and spent her childhood Cyprus. “There are opportunities in the U.S. and I found them with 1199.”

In addition to graduates, the evening’s program included Deborah King, executive director of 1199’s Training and Employment Funds; Bruce McIver, president of the League of Voluntary Hospitals and Homes of NY; and keynote speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito, speaker of the New York City Council, who warmly praised the students for their tenacity and contributions as caregivers. Every speaker reserved special gratitude for the families, friends and co-workers who supported the graduates.

Every year 1199SEIU’s Training and Employment Funds celebrate members who complete academic or training programs. Shown are graduates from a TEF G.E.D. Program at Long Beach High School (top) in Long Beach, NY and graduates who spoke at the Annual Recognition Ceremony in Manhattan in June (bottom).

Cheers, laughter and a well-deserved sense of accomplishment filled the ballroom of a midtown Manhattan hotel June 18 as more than 600 members of 1199SEIU gathered from across New York State to celebrate their 2015 completion of an academic or training program through the 1199SEIU Training and Employment Funds (TEF).

“1199ers are some of the hardest working people I have ever met,” said Mark-Viverito, a long-time member of the 1199SEIU family. “I know the difference they can make in this city.”

Mark-Viverito also characterized the cooperation of the 600 employers and 250,000 workers who have participated in 1199SEIU training programs as a model for finding solutions to healthcare’s challenges.

“You are living proof and spokespersons for what we are fighting for. Our TEF invests in you so you can fight for our city,” she said.

Chelsea Griffin, a CNA at Absolut Care in Westfield, NY, this year completed a two-year certification at Niagara County Community College to become a surgical technologist.

“I wanted to advance my career. I wanted to do something in the medical field and I wanted to be a part of a team,” says Griffin, who has applied for several jobs in her field. “I like the structure of being a surgical tech. I like working with the surgeons, anesthesiologists and RNs.”

"I wanted to advance my career. I wanted to do something in the medical field and I wanted to be a part of a team."

Griffin’s commute to school was 90 miles each way; to complete her program she worked lots of extra shifts, late nights and weekends.

“Going back to school was definitely a challenge. I live on my own, but I really wanted to succeed. In order to follow your dreams, you have to do something. Don’t have regrets. Make a plan and have your p’s and q’s in order,” she advised.

In his remarks, 1199SEIU Pres. George Gresham reminded the graduates that their achievement certificates were tickets to the next phase of their journey. Gresham, who is a Training Fund graduate, encouraged members to use them.

“Don’t let today be the end of your journey,” he said. “Let it be the beginning of your journey.”

“And if you ever really want to show your love for the 1199 Funds, all we can ask you is that wherever your work takes you—just do the best that you can in your career.”

Read more from the official 1199SEIU magazine ‘Our Life and Times’