Idaho Court of Appeals Chief Judge Sergio Gutierrez is the living embodiment of the power of Job Corps. Sergio received his GED and studied carpentry at the Wolf Creek Job Corps Center in the early 1970s.
Sergio was born in Chihuahua, Mexico, and immigrated with his family to Stockton, Calif., where his parents struggled to make ends meet. He then went to live with his grandmother. After his grandmother’s death, he fell into the wrong crowd and often found himself homeless. It was then when he fulfilled the promise he made to his grandmother that he would make something of himself, by going to an employment office to learn more about Job Corps.
At 16, Sergio began attending the Wolf Creek Job Corps Center in Oregon. The structure, support, and serenity of the center “gave me an affirmation that I could do something with my life.” Sergio quickly became a leader among the students and graduated with carpentry skills and a GED.
Sergio was transformed by his experiences at Wolf Creek and went on to earn both an undergraduate and a law degree and to practice law, and then was appointed to the Idaho Court of Appeals in 2002.
Sergio attributes his success to the Job Corps program. “My life turned around when I enrolled in the Wolf Creek Job Corp Center in Glide, Ore. Job Corps saved my life. I have a Bachelor of Arts degree from Boise State University and a Juris Doctor from the University of California, Hastings Law School. But I am most proud of the GED that I attained at Wolf Creek because it represented a new start in my life.”
Employer: Idaho Court of Appeals