After high school, Isaiah Caudillo was working as a lifeguard and looking to make a change in his life. He heard about Job Corps through his aunt, who had attended Los Angeles Job Corps Center years prior. He further discussed the decision to attend with his high school principal, who encouraged Isaiah to take advantage of the opportunity while he had the chance. Isaiah said he couldn’t turn down the opportunity to receive free education.
In October 2018, Isaiah enrolled at the Long Beach Job Corps Center, not too far from his hometown of Alhambra, Calif. He was excited to train in the Clinical Medical Assistant and Certified Nurse Assistant programs.
Isaiah was heavily involved with extracurricular activities, including the College Education Program, dorm officer, dorm vice president and eventually dorm president, Peer Corps, Rec Aide, and Youth 2 Youth Partners4Peace Student Ambassador; and he led part of the tour when U.S. Rep. Gilbert Cisneros toured the center. Isaiah was a leader and role model for other students on campus.
“I took advantage of everything I could.”
Between balancing all his extracurricular activities and two training areas, Isaiah became more mature and responsible. Dr. Remy, one of Isaiah’s professors and mentors, also helped him with time management skills and encouraged him to achieve success.
“[Dr. Remy was] my rock I needed to lean on whenever I was having a hard time going through some things. Whether personal or educational, he was there to help me out.”
Isaiah took advantage of his time at Job Corps and participated in a work-based learning experience at Wilmington Urgent Care in Wilmington, Calif. He was a medical assistant for 3 months and worked over 150 hours, gaining essential hands-on experience.
Isaiah graduated from Job Corps in August 2019 and, with the help from his Career Transition Specialist, Mr. Cruz, landed a job at Kaleidoscope Home Care in California as the lead certified nurse assistant (CNA). His Job Corps training and work-based learning experience helped him with not only the technical skills he uses like injections and blood draws, but the time management skills he uses every day to care for his patients.
“A big thank you to the staff that I came across that helped me out with everything that was going on. Even though times might have been tough for them, they were still there for us. A big thank you to them.”
Isaiah plans to further his career and enroll in an Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) program with a paramedics school.
“For somebody that is currently enrolled, I would say don’t give up, keep pushing. Times are going to get tough and it’s going to get hard, but you have to keep going because it’s going to make your life better. For someone that is coming in, take advantage of everything you can and listen to what Job Corps has to tell you.”
Graduated from Job Corps in: August 2019 Employer: Lead Certified Nurse Assistant (CNA) for Kaleidoscope Home Care Hometown: Alhambra, California Notes:
Contact Information: icaudillo05@gmail.com; 626-297-7105
Source: Center Submission
Story Type: Vetted Story