“My advice to someone interested in Job Corps: Jump headfirst into it. Don’t look back. Once you start, hang on to this experience. It’s just a tiny part of your life, but it will follow you and help you from here on out.” 
Growing up in Montclair, N.J., Sarina Benenati struggled to fit in with those around her. Most of her classmates came from a very different background where she never felt she belonged.
“My high school classmates were mostly ‘high school affluent.’ I did not fit that profile. I didn’t fit in, period.”
Not long after entering high school, Sarina began hanging out with the wrong crowd and found herself slowly heading toward a path of self-destruction. She was only 16 years old when her mother told her that Job Corps may be the best next step for her.
After leaving the concrete jungles of Jersey, Sarina made her way to Red Rock Job Corps Center located deep in the woods of northeast Pennsylvania, where she experienced a very big culture shock.
“We were basically a bunch of city kids, mostly from the Philly area, who had never been exposed to nature. We called it ‘The Rock’ because it was completely isolated, which proved to be a good thing. I could concentrate on positive things there.”
Thanks to the education and support she received while at Job Corps, Sarina now had the foundation she needed to explore her passions.
After graduating from Job Corps, Sarina visited a local pharmacy to fill a prescription and knew this was the career path for her. She soon began a 20-year career as a pharmacy technician, culminating in a teaching position at Sierra Nevada Job Corps Center. Sarina is now living her dream as a Retail Pharmacy Tech instructor and takes pride in her job.
“If it weren’t for Job Corps, I would have been demolished. I know that. I support the program 1,000%. It saved me, and now I get to help save others so they can have full lives. I’m so lucky to be working here. It’s so rewarding to be helping young people who are so much like I was, once upon a time.”
Graduated from Job Corps in: 1998 Employer: Pharmacy Technician Instructor at Sierra Nevada Job Corps Hometown: Montclair, New Jersey Phone: 775-789-0803 Email: Huntley.Mark@jobcorps.org Notes:
Source: MTC