Kicked out of high school and waiting at a bus station in Cincinnati, John Hoskins heard about Job Corps for the first time. The Michigan native overheard bystanders discussing the Job Corps
program and the recent success of someone they knew after graduating. Without much else to do, John decided to look into the program for himself and discovered there was a campus not far from where he grew up.
John headed to the Flint/Genesee Job Corps Center in Michigan with the hope that he may find that same success he heard about at the bus station. “No one was giving me direction,” he said “I knew I had to keep going, but I had to find the direction for myself. I didn’t have any expectations when I arrived at Job Corps; I just decided it was time to do something.”
While at Job Corps, John was able to finally earn his high school diploma. Little did he know this would be the first step in creating a life for himself that he never saw coming. John decided to pursue the Painting training program. “Mr. Heady, the Painting instructor, was a huge support system for me,” John said. “He has always been willing and ready to help me however he can, including finding a job post-graduation.”
The education at Job Corps wasn’t the only thing that helped John, but learning the dynamics of social life and routine molded him immensely. While he admits it wasn’t easy living on campus with other people and being in a structured environment for the first time in his life, that became a strength of his in the long run. “I met great friends at Job Corps that I still keep in touch with.”
After graduating from Job Corps, John decided to take a few classes at a local college. Painting in Michigan is a mostly seasonal job, so he wanted to fill his time with more education. While on his college campus, he was approached by a U.S. Army recruiter. John felt called to join the Army, where he ended up serving for 11 years.
“If I hadn’t gone to Job Corps, I wouldn’t have the drive to pursue education further and I wouldn’t have found the military. Our country was in the middle of a war, and I felt that was where I needed to be. Job Corps made me who I am today,” John said.
In his last years in the Army, John pursued higher education and earned his Bachelor of Business Administration degree with a focus in finance and financial management services at South University. He had set himself up perfectly to start the next chapter of his life after the army. He returned to his native Michigan and began his career in finance.
John started at JP Morgan Chase as a banker at the end of 2019 and has quickly worked his way up. He recently completed his certification to be a Private Client Banker and is working in the Greater Detroit area. “Life has gone a thousand miles per hour since Job Corps,” John said. “Everything I have done up until now has given my life substance.”
“Keep going, and complete everything you do. Those are the two things that Job Corps and the army both taught me. That would be my advice for younger students, too.” John said he often reflects on the Job Corps program and the life it gave him: “If I hadn’t not gotten off at that bus stop in Cincinnati, my life might have turned out totally different.”
Graduated from Job Corps in: 2005 Employer: Personal Financial Advisor, J.P. Morgan, Michigan Hometown: Flint, MI Phone: 912-439-1991 Email: John.m.hoskins1@gmail.com Submitted by: Sellars Huy Notes:
Source: Center submitted