At 50 years old, mother of two and breast cancer survivor Natasha Jacobs is training for her future healthcare career through Enterprise State Community College’s Medical Assistant Technology program. Jacobs is expected to graduate in Spring 2026 and is already building the foundation for a rewarding new path.

Jacobs has always been drawn to healthcare and helping others. She was inspired by her parents, who both worked as nurses.

“I come from that background, and not only that, my parents, they helped church members, the sick, the elderly, the poor, anyone who needed help,” she said. “Me and my brothers and sisters were right there with them.”

After high school, Jacobs initially took a different path, earning a degree in fashion merchandising at the University of Alabama. During college, she began her family with the birth of her son, Xavier, followed by her daughter, Shania. To provide for them, she built a long career with Walmart while her children grew up and pursued their own education and training.

“There were many times where I wanted to quit, but I didn’t,” she said. “I wanted to be able to provide everything for my kids – not spoil them but provide for them the things that me and my brothers and sisters weren’t able to have.”

After 23 years with Walmart, Jacobs’s father passed away, prompting her to reevaluate her career and return to pursuing her dream of working in healthcare. She joined Baptist Health in Montgomery as a patient care technician before moving to Dothan to begin nursing training. Just as she started that new chapter, she received a diagnosis that changed her life.

“I got into the RN program [in Dothan],” Jacobs said. “First week of school, I had a mammogram. I went through that and was diagnosed with breast cancer.”

Her Stage 1 diagnosis led to two lumpectomies and radiation treatments, forcing her to leave school. Now cancer free for two years, Jacobs says the experience changed her perspective.

“That really changed my perspective on life,” she said. “Given a second chance at life, you do things differently; you see things differently. It was time for me to go back to school, and I was like, ‘You know what? I’m going to research.’ I said, ‘I think I’ll try medical assistant.’”

Her own health journey and years of caring for her son, who had autism, deepened her interest in the medical field.

“Having a lot of experience being in and out of doctor’s offices with my son having autism and then my health issues, it just made me even more curious, especially finding out that all that time I thought I was talking to a nurse, I was talking to a medical assistant,” she said.

Jacobs first joined a medical assistant program at another institution. She found her way to Enterprise State after the passing of her son, Xavier. She was determined to honor his memory by continuing her education.

She enrolled at Enterprise State in Spring 2025, taking two classes at a time and paying tuition out of pocket through the College’s payment plan options.

“I’m able to meet a lot of different young ladies,” she said about the program. “I consider them my sisters, my little sisters. We learn from each other, so it’s been a great experience. We help each other out. Everything we do, we do together.”

When Jacobs registered for classes this fall, Medical Assistant Technology instructor Melissa Whitman helped her find scholarship funding that would allow her to take more courses and graduate sooner. Through Whitman’s guidance as well as assistance from the Dean of Students office, Jacobs received a needs-based scholarship that covered the cost of additional classes.

“Miss Whitman, I think she’s just been wonderful,” Jacobs said. “I mean, she’s always there to help. She wants to help all of her students be successful. If we’re successful, then she’s successful. She’s done what she’s supposed to do or wants to do, and I couldn’t ask for a better program.”

Jacobs’s story reflects her perseverance and the supportive community she has found at Enterprise State. Her journey through loss, illness, and new beginnings has become a powerful reminder that perseverance and faith can turn life’s greatest challenges into new beginnings.

“I have learned to not worry about anything,” she said. “In each thing that I’ve been through, I say my lesson is not to worry about anything because I have to put my trust in the Most High God because he already has a plan. You just have to walk through the journey.”