PHOENIX — At 17 years old, most kids would be worrying about their homework and grades. But, Karma Liburd is focused on building up her business, the Maricopa Career Institute.
It’s a school that teaches people health care skills such as CPR and safe babysitting courses. The institute was recently approved to teach certified nursing assistant (CNA) courses.
“I wanted to do something that would immediately impact my community. So, I decided to start a CNA school not only to relieve the shortage but also to provide opportunities, job opportunities for people wanting a bridge into the health care field,” Liburd tells ABC15.
It all started out as a year-long class project when she was 16. It then grew into something much bigger.
“When I first came up with the idea or started telling people about the idea, I had a lot of fellow classmates doubting or not thinking it’s a real program or project I was taking on,” Liburd continued. “I was met with a lot of skepticism, but I believe I’ve come a long way from that.”
It took months of paperwork and research for Liburd to figure out where she wanted to put the institute. It’s now located at 35th and Peoria avenues.
Liburd said she chose this location to help give opportunities to people in the area who may want to advance in the health care realm. She wants her institute to be a one-stop shop for those wanting to get into the industry. That’s why at the end of the CNA course, students can take the test to be certified.
The institute has rooms where people learn CPR and babysitting courses with mannequins. There is now also a room in the school where it’s modeled after a patient room.
“They’d be going through a simulation lab. They’d also be going through a clinical. We’d be training students to be CNAs, a certified nursing assistant,” she continued. “Then, we also have a recruiting, CNA recruiting, where we can also help CNAs find jobs after the training program.”
Liburd isn’t certified to teach. She leaves that up to her mom, Nikki Boyd, who also helped pay and start up the school.
Boyd is a registered nurse, which she said makes her qualified to teach the health courses at the institute as well as the upcoming CNA classes.
“I'd like to say, ‘Why not?’ I have a passion for teaching, Karma has a passion for learning. She's very ambitious and she's very hardcore when it comes to making sure things are lined up correctly,” Boyd said.
Liburd's future is lined up. She’s already graduated high school, has an associate’s degree from Rio Salado and has already been accepted into multiple colleges including Johns Hopkins, Vanderbilt and Howard University. Liburd said she wants to go into the pre-law and pre-med track to become a medical malpractice lawyer. She believes her experience with running the CNA school will help with that.
Although she graduated in May, Liburd tells ABC15 she’s taking a gap year to focus on the institute.
“As a minor, I can’t experience as many opportunities at universities like I’d be able to if I were 18,” she said.
Liburd and her mom went through a lot of paperwork, training and inspections to get the institute up and running. Boyd says her daughter did a lot of work to make it happen, but she’s not surprised that her daughter did it.
“I’m really excited to see what she has coming ahead of her. I can only imagine how much more she’ll accomplish. She’s only 17. She’s done so much and so I can’t even imagine what the next five, 10 years of her life will look like,” Boyd said.
The first CNA class will be taught in September and there is still time for people to enroll. There will be three different classes taught by registered nurses, including Boyd. There are also other courses such as the CPR and safe babysitting classes that are taught every few weeks. You can find more information here.
Liburd added she wants to expand the Maricopa Career Institute into more than just a CNA training school in the future.
“It didn’t really feel real. It was like, ‘Oh, it’s just a school I’m starting or whatever.’ I didn’t feel like it was that big of a deal until more recently when we got our approval, and we started furnishing the building. I’m like, ‘Oh, my gosh. I’m starting a real school.’ It’s a lot more real now,” she said.
