Originally from Brooklyn, N.Y., Keion Chance graduated from high school in 2017 and was working at John F. Kennedy International Airport. One of his friends referred him to Job Corps, and Keion was enticed by doing a trade and liked the idea that the training program was free. In October 2019, he decided to join Iroquois Job Corps in Medina, N.Y.
“There is nothing like it [Job Corps].”
At Job Corps, Keion enrolled in the Home Builders Institute Electrical Pre-Apprenticeship Program gaining valuable experience. He met friends on center that he keeps in touch with today. When COVID-19 hit, Keion began distance learning at home. It was challenging, but he adjusted. Soon enough, Keion was back on center in November 2020.
Keion knew Job Corps was a good program and that he had to remain focused. He excelled in his training and graduated in April 2021. He then was selected for advanced training and transferred to Oneonta Job Corps in Oneonta, N.Y., where Keion began the Electrical Overhead Line Advance Training Program.
Keion graduated in August 2021 ready to work. His training instructors, Chief Simmons and Chief Brown, helped Keion find a great job in fiber optics. Keion is now working as a lineman for Rocky Mountain Fiber in Newington, Conn. He is using the skills he learned at Job Corps in his job today, including climbing pulls, using the bucket truck and the necessary lineman skills. Keion already has a few months of experience with his job and plans to continue gaining experience. He doesn’t want to limit himself. Keion wants to keep working and achieving.
“Go to Job Corps. Stay focused. Be ambitious and be determined.”
Graduated from Job Corps in: August 2021 Employer: Lineman; Rocky Mountain Fiber; Newington, Connecticut Hometown: Brooklyn, New York Phone: 602-702-9304 Email: Keion.chance99@gmail.com Submitted by: Becca Sweredoski Notes:
Source: Center e-mail (Dennis Essom, Center Director, essom.dennis@jobcorps.org)