Before coming to Job Corps, Antonio Forston was homeless. He found himself running with a bad crowd after aging out of foster care, and a friend suggested that he look into Job Corps as a means to make something of himself. Originally, Antonio was only interested in joining so that he could get his driver’s license, but what he would come to find there would take him further than he ever thought possible.
Looking back, Antonio attributes all of his success to the opportunities that Job Corps gave him. When he first attended the Cleveland Job Corps Center, Antonio admitted that he simply wasn’t invested in himself or his career. From sleeping in class to failing his tests, Antonio gave the center and his instructors every reason to give up on him; but they never did.
On what made him change, Antonio said, “I sat there for almost 6 months doing nothing. I heard the teachers complaining that I had not done the work and wouldn’t be ready to take the state test. That was a major turning point for me.”
After months of slacking, Antonio finally found his passion in firefighting at the Cleveland Job Corps Center, where he trained in structural firefighting.went on to train in wildfire fighting at the Schenck Job Corps Center in North Carolina. After graduating from Schenck, Antonio went on to work for a wildfire fighting department in Boise, Idaho.
Not only did Antonio learn the physical skills he needed for a successful career, but he also learned how to be a good co-worker too. He admits that his line of work is a busy one and that you never know what the people around you are sacrificing to be there. Because of that, he always tries his best to be versatile and aware of what his peers are going through and where they come from.
Antonio hopes to one day mentor children in foster care, just as he was once mentored. On his own experience with mentoring, Antonio said, “I want to have a stake in foster care. Being a mentor is huge. My mentor used to pick me up and take me away from my environment, and I forgot the pain I was going through. After an hour it was back to reality; but it meant the world to me, and I still think about him to this day.” He admits that looking back on it he appreciates it more now than he did at the time, but given the opportunity he would absolutely do that for someone else if he could.
Antonio currently holds his EMT and firefighting license and is in paramedic school. After graduating from paramedic school, Antonio hopes to return to his love of firefighting by working part time at the fire department while also working full time at a hospital. He wants people to know that life is hard once you graduate from high school, but it is not impossible.
On what his biggest piece of advice is to current or prospective Job Corps students, he said, “Keep focused on what you want out of the program, even when it gets hard.”
Graduated from Job Corps in: 2016 Employer: Firefighter, EMT, Paramedic school Hometown: Cleveland, Ohio Notes:
Contact Information: fortsonantonio380@gmail.com; 216-553-8709
Story Type: Vetted Story