Annette Guzman-Torres was feeling discouraged
and frustrated, her anxiety fueled by the
uncertainty of a bleak job market during the
coronavirus pandemic.
The 44-year-old married mother of two boys
is close to finishing the capstone project for
her doctorate from Capella University. She
has a 3.77 GPA, is a member of The National
Society of Leadership and Success and has big
professional dreams.
But Guzman-Torres was furloughed from her
government job in March after the pandemic
began and still hasn’t been able to return. She
also found no leads for employment after her
upcoming graduation.
“I was like, I have no job, nowhere to go,
nothing to do,” said the resident of Bloomfield,
New Jersey. “My fears, I was kind of letting
them get to me.”