Rural & Remote is immensely proud to provide rural Kansans with solid remote job opportunities, paving the way to a life many could once only dream of. Finishers of the program rave about the support received during the process and the peace of mind and personal gratification they have found upon completing the program and securing employment. Below you will find several Rural & Remote success stories, from individuals who decided to take the plunge into the world of remote working and who have since found their niche, happily employed and fulfilling a life of their dreams in beautiful Northwest Kansas.

Amber Hernandez

Amber Hernandez refused to allow health concerns to keep her down.

Struggling with chronic health issues since the age of 15, Hernandez pushed through and was employed outside of the home for a long while. Eventually her health made leaving the home to work unfeasible, but Hernandez never lost her desire to contribute to the workforce.

Information about Rural & Remote kept popping up on her social media, and one day in November 2019, she decided to learn more about the opportunities this could provide for her. 

“I’ve had these issues since I was 15 and I have always tried my best to work,” Hernandez explained from her home office in Ellis. “But it got to the point a few years ago that working outside the home was not an option for me. I was really intrigued by the course.” 

Hernandez has not regretted the decision to click that social media ad, as she has now completed her Master of Remote Work Training with Rural & Remote and has found employment with Concentrix, where her job duties include navigational support for GMC OnStar Satellite customers.  

She cites worries about navigating the technology as one of her biggest concerns going into the program, but urges those with similar to concerns to not let that be a stopping point “The course was easy to go through … if you had questions, the trainers were always there to answer and if you were struggling, they made sure that you were able to get caught up,” she assures.

Hernandez cites the incredible team at Rural & Remote as a huge benefit to the program, specifically praising Rural & Remote Regional Coordinator, Gretchin Staples. “She has been incredible. I couldn’t have done it without her. When I was going through all my health challenges, she told me to just let her know what she could do to help me. It is great to know you have someone in your corner,” she said.

“If you’re the least bit interested in working remotely – go ahead and go for it,” Hernandez encourages. “So many people will help you and guide you and get you to where you need to be.”

Stephen Forbes

Word of mouth can be a powerful tool, such as in the case of Stephen Forbes. 

Forbes was completing his senior year at Kansas State University, majoring in Computer Sciences, but still wasn’t sure what career he wanted to pursue post-grad. 

A friend told Forbes about the Coding Academy he had completed through Rural & Remote and Forbes felt it could be the direction he was seeking. While completing his undergrad,  Forbes began the online coding academy. It was while doing these studies simultaneously that Forbes began to see his future come into focus.

Forbes’s  senior project was to create a website, and the knowledge gained in the coding academy skyrocketed him towards completion of the project. “It was amazing, honestly,” says Forbes. “Even in just the first month-and-a-half, I went from being one of the students in my group at school who was passive and not always understanding how code needed to work on websites to leading projects.”

Forbes says the R&R program was incredibly focused, hands on, and specific, which he appreciated. “It is laser focused,” Forbes explained. “At a university, you’re looking at the broad strokes of many different coding languages. In the coding academy, you are deep diving into a specific framework that is just a lot more hands-on and you’re getting a lot more specific technical skills to help you right then and there.”

Forbes said he also appreciated the support system who were there for him every step of the way through the process. “You have really great support,” he noted. “The mentors that are assigned to you along the way can change, which can be a challenge. But, so many of these mentors have gone through the program themselves that they have such great first-hand knowledge of being a student … they understand exactly where you’re at and what you’re going through.” 

Upon completing the Coding Academy, Forbes participated in an internship made possible through the Dane G. Hansen Foundation and was able to put his newly learned skills into practice. Forbes was tasked with building  two web pages for Ellsworth County Economic Development. For the project, Forbes developed a page to connect renters with property owners.  

Additionally, Forbes has done work on the Connect NWK Job Board, explaining that he felt it important that applicants’ information on the site was sent directly to prospective employers. “I didn’t want the companies to have to constantly check the site – it’s all emailed directly to them to make it easy as possible.”

Forbes has found his niche with Rural and Remote.  “That’s truly one of the best parts about going through the coding academy and having this experience. I don’t have to completely uproot my life to chase a career. I’m not interested in corporate culture. I want to be a part of a community and have those connections. It’s a lot more personal and I get to be where I want to be.” 

Maria Dahlquist 

Maria Dahlquist’s early morning alarm was a constant reminder that she was getting up just to head to her job that brought no enjoyment along with it.

“I would wake up and just have this feeling of dread,” she recalls. 

Thankfully for Dahlquist, those dark days are now just a memory as she is now working a job she loves, thanks to Rural and Remote. Dalhquist was feeling stuck and hopeless when she saw an article about Rural & Remote on the news page of a local radio station. “I had an outdated bachelor’s degree in computer science and hadn’t worked in the industry for probably about 16 years,” Dahqluist explains, adding that she doubted the perfect job for her even existed at this point.

Dahlquist decided to learn more about R&R and decided it seemed like a way to break the cycle of job dread. She notes the path was not easy, as she continued working full-time while completing the Coding Academy, but decided to stay persistent.

“I was working and would come home exhausted and have to spend my evenings and weekends studying hard and completing my school work,” she said. “It was a struggle, but it was well worth it.”

Dahlquist was able to complete the course, and she graduated the course after 10 months of study in March 2020 and began a 500-hour apprenticeship with Bottega on the tech support team.

The internship went by quickly, and then Dahlquist found herself looking for a full-time job in early June in the midst of the COVID pandemic. Good news came soon after, when Dahlquist got the news that R&R was partnering with Cloud County Community College and was needing someone to fill the role of Northwest Kansas Technical Lead. 

Dahlquist was offered the position, and now instead of early-morning dread, she feels hope, optimism, and fulfillment. “It is so incredibly gratifying … all my hard work, struggling to learn the coding, going through the course, now it’s benefiting others. I am getting to help students build a bright future for themselves. I really like to see other people succeed. It truly is serendipitous.”

Hannah Danner

There’s no place like home, and Hannah Danner would surely tell you that.

A  native of Logan, Kansas, Danner had made the move, alongside husband Greg, to a suburb outside Chicago following her graduation from Benedectine College. 

Dannar loved her job and she and her husband were pleased to be near his family, but Dannar reflects on how Chicago just never really felt like home to them.

Eventually the Danners decided to return to their Midwest roots, and they arrived back in Logan in 2018. The Danners set out to find jobs they could really love. Greg found employment as a mechanical engineer in Norton and Danner was working at the Hansen Museum in Logan. Danner enjoyed the position at the reputable location, but it still just didn’t feel quite perfect. “I really liked it, but I was just missing that balance between the slower pace of life in rural Kansas and a challenging role in a career,” she explains. 

She saw an ad for Rural & Remote and reached out. It wasn’t long before she connected with Gretchin Staples, Rural & Remote Regional Coordinator. 

“It was so invigorating to talk with her,” Danner said, noting she felt Staples understood her fears about stalling out her career and feeling underemployed.

She decided to take the Master of Remote Work Certification Course through Rural & Remote and found other professionals in the area she could relate to, and soon realized she was not alone in her quest for job fulfillment in the place that felt most like home.

Danner was finally able to find exactly what she was looking for. Since last fall, she has been working as a Field Marketing Specialist for Curriculum Associates, a Massachusetts company that makes educational products for schools. It’s a role she calls a “perfect fit” that allows her to create with graphic design as well as strategize on the concepts of materials she creates for field reps to present to the schools. 

“The flexible work schedule gives me the ability to let my 2-year-old sleep in,” she explains. “Once she wakes up, I can take a break, get her breakfast and then take her to my sister, who takes care of her, and get back to work. She gets to grow up with her cousin … which is just the sweetest thing.”

So, just one year that Danner calls a “whirlwind,” she looks back and still can’t believe everything fell into place.

“There was a discussion during our Rural & Remote course that talked about how other people’s success can serve as a beacon of hope,” she said. “I just want to tell other people that it’s just so worth it to keep pursuing what pushes you and what makes you happy. It makes the world a better place because making your own corner of your world happy goes so much farther than you think it would.”

Jason Grogran

Jason Grogan enjoyed his work at Brown Grand Historic Theater in Concordia, but increasing health issues made Grogran realize that there were likely some professional changes looming on the horizon. He and his wife were both fond of their life in North Central Kansas, near their children and grandchildren, so one thing Grogan knew was that he wanted to stay in the area.

Grogran attended a Chamber coffee event and listened to Rural & Remote Director, Kade Wilcox, talk about the training opportunities for remote careers. A former computer programmer, Grogan was immediately interested. 

“Things were progressing health wise, and I knew there would come a time when I wouldn’t be able to work at the theater anymore,” he explained. “That’s when I decided to apply for the program.”

Rural & Remote’s Coding Academy appealed to Grogan, as he found the program both challenging and exciting.

“It’s been a lot of fun … challenging, yes, but really neat to learn new skills,” he said. 

In addition to the Coding course, Grogran took an additional course which allowed him to learn about Zoho, a company that encompasses online office suite products for business operations.

This led to Grogran getting an interview with Cornerstone Solutions, a Houston-Based company.

Grogran’s days now look vastly different than before, but he has found his stride with his new way of life.

“I really wanted to stay in this region … our kids have all gotten married and have grandkids, but to do this type of work – there’s not much available right here,” he said, adding it would have probably meant a move or commute to Salina or Manhattan. “It’s really neat to be able to stay here and know I’m able to do this type of work and be progressing professionally.”

Best of all, there’s flexibility built in.

“If I need time off, I can work early and then watch my grandkids, if need be, and then finish up what I need to do that evening,” he said. “I can also travel and get my work done. All I need to do is bring along my laptop, connect to WIFI, and I’m good to go.”