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JVS honoree started life over, worked way up ladder of success

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Message: If you are having trouble reading this email, you may view this article online at: http://www.jweekly.com/57708/full/57708/jvs-honoree-started-life-over-worked-way-up-ladder-of-success/ JVS honoree started life over, worked way up ladder of success Thursday, April 8, 2010 | by amanda pazornik Eight years ago, anti-Semitism drove Olga Kashirtseva out of her native Russia and into the unfamiliar city of San Francisco. It was painful, but quite possibly the best thing that could have happened to her and her family. “I started my life over from the beginning,” she said. “I could walk, but I had to learn how to talk, read and understand. It was like I was born again.” <div class="capDivLeft" style="width: 360px;"><img alt="BAbiz***" class="left" height="320" src="http://www.jweekly.com/images/uploads/y_photos_2010/zk04_09_10/BAbiz***.jpg" title="Olga Kashirtseva celebrates earning her nursing license." width="360" /> <div class="caption">Olga Kashirtseva celebrates earning her nursing license.</div> </div> Today Kashirtseva, 45, is a registered nurse who works full time at Blood Centers of the Pacific in San Francisco, where she educates potential donors, takes their medical, biological and demographic history and draws blood. “I can see the beginning and the end of the job every day, several times a day,” said Kashirtseva, who studied engineering and then nursing before she left Russia. “I start the procedure, I talk with the donor and see a happy person at the end because he gave [enough blood] to save three or four lives.” Kashirtseva is one of four people being honored as an employee of the year at the 18th annual Strictly Business Awards Luncheon on Monday, April 12 at the San Francisco Marriott Marquis. The awards are given to individuals who, despite obstacles, landed jobs and are now making a difference after seeking assistance from the S.F.-based Jewish Vocational Service. This year the selection committee received around 50 nominations from employers and picked 15 applicants for in-person interviews. During the meeting with Kashirtseva, selection committee co-chair Dana Corvin was “blown away” by what she had done in such a short amount of time. “Olga is a great role model for JVS,” Corvin said. “She was this light that came into the room. Once we heard her speak and she told her story, we knew no matter what she would be one of our winners.” In addition to Kashirtseva, this year’s winners are Marti Valentine of Kelly Services, Mayra Bañuelos of Farella Braun + Martel LLP and William Green of Deeelish! Meals Made Easy. California Pacific Medical Center–St. Luke’s Campus also will be honored for its investment in the future by creating opportunities for some of the city’s most vulnerable youth. In January 2002 Kashirtseva fled with her two children from Moscow to San Francisco, where she reconnected with her father and brother. Kashirtseva said she “fell in love” with her city surroundings, mostly because she no longer had to hide her Jewish identity. “In Russia, I knew kids who didn’t want to be friends with me because I was Jewish,” she said. “I still can’t pronounce the word ‘Jewish’ in Russian because it reminds me of my childhood when kids made fun of me.” Her children, Filipp, 14, and Dasha, 18, never knew they were Jewish until Kashirtseva sought professional and personal help from the S.F.-based Jewish Family and Children’s Services a month after they arrived. “It took time for them to finally feel like Jews, because we lived in a country where it wasn’t safe to be Jewish,” Kashirtseva recalled. “Now my son is going to attend Jewish Community High School, and he’s proud.” Back at JFCS, Kashirtseva connected with a caseworker who referred her to JVS for training in office technology, interviewing and resúmé writing. She also enrolled in an English as a second language course and put her skills to the test as a JFCS receptionist — first as a volunteer, then as a part-time employee. “I could hardly speak English, but I was not going to say no,” said Kashirtseva on taking the job. “I started a new life in a new country and I wanted to do things differently, even though I was scared.” Kashirtseva also started dating Zurab Gachechiladze, whom she met while volunteering for JFCS. An employee there at the time, Gachechiladze assisted immigrants with securing furniture and other necessities to build a new life. The pair married three years ago. Though her English came slowly, Kashirtseva held the position at JFCS for two and a half years before returning her focus to the medical profession. In July 2006, she earned her medical assistant diploma and a month later secured a job as a donor technician with Blood Centers of the Pacific. But Kashirtseva wasn’t satisfied. She wanted to be a registered nurse. So she signed up for courses at City College of San Francisco and enrolled in a refresher course for foreign-trained nurses through JVS. She took six months off from her job for classes, rotations and studying for the boards. In the process, “I lost my medical insurance, I didn’t earn money, but I knew I had to pass my R.N. boards the first time,” she said. Kashirtseva earned her license last July and now works as a nurse at the blood centers. Though it wasn’t easy, she believes her hard work set an example that has contributed to her children’s success. Dasha was accepted to U.C. Berkeley in the fall as a Regents Scholar, one of the university’s most prestigious scholarships. “You can start your life from the beginning, follow your goals and reach them,” Kashirtseva said. “My daughter is the first example, and now it’s on my son.” The 2010 Strictly Business Awards Luncheon is 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. Monday, April 12 at the San Francisco Marriott Marquis, 55 4th St., S.F. Information: <a href="http://www.jvs.org">http://www.jvs.org</a>.

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