Partnership Between Colonial Claims and JobSight Proves ‘Life-Changing’ for Pike Countian Shasta Slone

Like many at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, Shasta Slone wasn’t just facing the uncertainty of a global health crisis, but the prospect of unemployment, as well.

“I was looking for work, and there wasn’t a lot for me at that time,” Slone said.

Shasta Slone

A resident of Pike County, Slone was serving with AmeriCorps at a food pantry and disaster relief shelter when pandemic restrictions in 2020 caused an early end to her contract and the income she was bringing in. She picked up jobs here and there to help make ends meet, but it was a struggle between a need for steady work and balancing her life at home and raising a family as a single parent.

“I was floundering,” Slone said. “It was just a really hard time.” 

Slone persisted and continued to look for full-time employment opportunities when in 2021 she came across a social media post detailing a new paid internship that could lead to a work-from-home position through Colonial Claims, a nationwide insurance adjusting company. In partnership with Eastern Kentucky Concentrated Employment Program (EKCEP) and Kentucky Career Center JobSight, the company offered 16 weeks of free training that would prepare eligible Eastern Kentuckians for careers in the insurance industry. In addition to recruitment and screening of potential interns, EKCEP would issue a weekly $400 stipend to help cover living costs during the course of the internship. 

It seemed like a good opportunity, so Slone filled out an online application and it wasn't long before she was notified that her application was accepted. She worked with career center staff to complete the necessary paperwork and began her internship in the summer of 2021.  

“It was a very easy process [to apply and get started],” Slone explained.  

While Slone was working toward a degree in human services administration and had a healthy work history, she came into the internship with Colonial Claims with no prior experience in the insurance industry. In fact, before she submitted her application, a career in insurance wasn’t something she had ever considered.

“It was a whole new industry,” she said. “It was just entirely new to me.” 

While the training was all online, Slone was comfortable with that sort of learning environment. There was a lot to learn at first, she added, and it felt almost like they were learning a new language. But then things clicked into place and she and her fellow interns began to build on the initial foundation that Colonial’s trainers laid out for them during the first two weeks of training. 

“You learn the things you need to know, and by the end of your training you’re mostly fluent in the language,” she said. “It was very interesting that as you’re going along, you don’t realize how much you’re picking up.” 

Slone said the trainers made sure the interns knew what they were doing before the end of the internship, and as a result of her training, she passed the Kentucky adjuster licensing test and obtained certification in Xactimate, an insurance claims estimating software. She would need both her license and certification since she transitioned immediately from an intern to a full-time adjuster with Colonial Claims. 

Fast forward to the spring of 2023 and Slone is nearly two years into the job. It’s going well and she’s not only happy to be employed, but also to be working for a company that encourages ongoing professional development in her career. 

“It’s going so well and I’ve learned so much,” she said. “There’s so many opportunities for advancement, there’s so many paths you can go with insurance, like liability and property insurance, home, catastrophe, and flood. And we’re encouraged to learn more about that and get certified in those areas.  

“The way we’re encouraged and motivated to really better ourselves and we’re rewarded for those things, it’s been wonderful,” Slone added.  

A lot has changed for Slone in the time since she first began the internship that she defines that time as “life-changing.” Her confidence has grown and she doesn’t feel that her career is limited. Being able to train for a new job while receiving a stipend to help cover living expenses was a big help, she added, and it’s an experience she would recommend to others who may be looking for new work, as well.  

“It did so many things for me and it could do so many good things for other people,” she said.  

To learn more about the career and employment services available at Kentucky Career Center JobSight in Eastern Kentucky, visit jobsight.org. For a full list of JobSight locations and contact info, visit jobsight.org/locations.

EKCEP, a nonprofit workforce development agency headquartered in Hazard, Ky., serves the citizens of 23 Appalachian coalfield counties. The agency provides an array of workforce development services and operates the Kentucky Career Center JobSight network of workforce centers, which provide access to more than a dozen state and federal programs that offer employment and training assistance for job seekers and employers all under one roof. Learn more about us at http://www.ekcep.org or http://www.facebook.com/ekcep.