CHEYENNE - D.J. Holste hit another rough patch last fall after she graduated from the CLIMB Wyoming program in August as a phlebotomist.

It wasn't until November that she was hired by Cheyenne Regional Medical Center. In the meantime, the bills piled up, and she fretted about foreclosure of the house she bought in 1985.

Things are looking up now that she is earning a paycheck.

"I'm doing a lot of training," she said. "I'm trying to learn the ropes here."

She was one of four phlebotomists hired by the hospital, including three other CLIMB graduates. CLIMB Wyoming is a nonprofit organization that offers job training and placement to help single mothers get better paying jobs in a variety of fields so they can be self-sufficient.

At 52, Holste was older than her seven classmates when they graduated Aug. 16 at a ceremony in the backyard garden at the governor's residence. They picked her as their spokeswoman for the graduation ceremony, the culmination of a 10-week course toward certification as a phlebotomist, a trained person who draws blood for medical testing.

Since being hired in November, she has already done a variety a things, working in the hospital lab.

"There's still a lot to learn," she said. "I'm still fascinated by all the tests they can run on blood and all the tests that there are."

She said now she must be sure she is drawing blood for the right test and using the right tube.

"Before I go to draw, I check and double check and triple check. It's so crucial that you're right on. There's no room for error," she said.

She said she has trained with different people who have shown her different techniques.

'I'm trying to hone my skills so I can pick up speed," she said.

During her training, she is paid $10.66 per hour and is covered by health insurance.

"I feel real good about it," she said of her new job.

Holste hit her first rough patch the year before when her husband moved out and left her with a pile of unpaid bills. To keep food on the table, she delivered newspapers and worked in telephone sales but wasn't making ends meet.

In an interview after the ceremony at the governor's residence, she said she applied for the CLIMB program because she wanted to be a role model for her three daughters.

A graduate of Burns High School, Debra Jean Holste picked up the D.J. nickname in grade school because there were so many other girls of that age named Debra.

Her three daughters, Miston, 22, Tairyn, 19, and Torrie, 16, and a 1-year-old grandson live with her. Her house is small with two bedrooms upstairs and one down, she said.

As for division of household chores, Holste said she does the cooking, which is OK, because she likes to cook.

Despite recent car and plumbing problems, Holste said, "Things are falling into place."

"We're still a one-car family, so I've been cabbing it and catching rides to work," she said.

"I don't care if I get there early. I don't want to be late."

Capital bureau reporter Joan Barron can be reached at (307) 632-1244 or at joan.barron@trib.com.