Ahmed Alston felt intense pressure to take care of his family and continue putting his future on hold.
He couldn’t finish high school, then tried attending Job Corps at 17 years old; but he couldn’t stick with it. Ahmed felt washed out and wasn’t ready for the program. He felt embarrassed around his high school friends who were graduating and moving on with their lives, hiding that he hadn’t earned his diploma and didn’t have plans for college or a career.
Ahmed’s mother was going through a difficult divorce along with medical difficulties, and Ahmed’s brother needed the support of a parent to get through school.
After only a few short months at Woodstock Job Corps Center, Ahmed returned home to take care of his family, working minimum wage retail jobs to make ends meet.
At 24 years old, he knew he couldn’t wait any longer.
“I was crying myself to sleep at night. One day, I took a leap of faith and left for Charleston Job Corps Center. The hardest thing I ever did was leave my home and family; but time kept passing without a high school diploma, job or promising future in sight.”
When choosing his training area, Ahmed was inspired by his mother’s career path: She trained as a certified nurse assistant at Job Corps, attended college, became a registered nurse for 10 years, returned to college and then became a paralegal. She was constantly working and motivating Ahmed and his brother to do their best in and out of the classroom. She even pushed Ahmed to participate in the National Institute of Health student ambassador program as a child, which helped spark his interest in health care.
Following in his mother’s footsteps, Ahmed chose to train as a certified nurse assistant and began working toward his high school diploma at Charleston Job Corps.
The day he earned his diploma, Ahmed immediately called his mom from a campus bathroom stall and told her, “I can’t believe it. Now, I want more!”
Her response was simple: “Use that. It’s fuel. Keep going.”
With a diploma in hand and eyes set toward a career, Ahmed did not expect what would come next. Walking across campus one day, he noticed the gym was full of students watching a presentation. He decided to check it out.
Ahmed came in, sat down, then realized it was a presentation on joining the military. He eventually decided to walk out; but as he stood to leave, Ahmed was called out by one of the officers. They shared more information with him about the process of joining, and Ahmed had a gut feeling he should go for it.
He was eager to share his decision to join the military with his mother. She was worried for him at first but incredibly proud. Only a week later, she passed away due to medical difficulties. To avoid getting sucked into old patterns or becoming overwhelmed with grief, Ahmed attended the memorial service in his hometown, then immediately left for the military that same evening.
“I knew I had to do the scariest thing in that moment—leave. I got in that van with the clothes on my back.”
As Ahmed adapted to life on the base, he realized Job Corps had prepared him in ways he didn’t expect, from discipline to learning how to work with people with different personalities, to creating his own support system. He knew that, no matter what happened in the future, he had people in his corner from Job Corps and now the military who cared about him and would show him tough love when he needed it.
For Ahmed, the hardest part of his career path was focusing on himself. After dedicating all his time and energy to others for most of his life, having a community encouraging him to take control of his own destiny felt foreign.
Ahmed graduated from Charleston Job Corps Center in May 2016 and is now coming up on his sixth year of service in the Army with several travel and career opportunities available to him as he transitions back into civilian life.
“You have to put you first. I know it’s hard, and I hate saying something so cliché; but you can’t be a good parent, friend, brother, sister or partner if you aren’t complete. It’s OK to be selfish about your own life because, once you reach your goals and help yourself, you can truly help others.”
Now, Ahmed feels as though his world has come full circle; but this time he has confidence, support and a bright future ahead.
“That part of my life [finding the courage to move to Job Corps] was a success story, and I know this new step into the unknown will be too. I’m scared, but it’s an incredible feeling. I’m going to use that. It’s fuel. I’ll keep going.”
Graduated from Job Corps in: May 2016 Employer: United States Army Hometown: Patterson, New Jersey Phone: 240-702-6758 Submitted by: Lydia Henry Notes:
Source: Nuvi