Shameka Rabon was raised in the small military town of Lawton, Oklahoma. With a large family that included four brothers and three sisters, there was rarely a dull moment in her house. Shameka consistently made good grades, but after the unexpected passing of her youngest brother during her senior year, she had trouble coping with […]
Region 2: Philadelphia
Quanise Chatman
In addition to earning her high school diploma and completing two training areas at Job Corps, it was there that Quanise Chatman discovered her passion for volunteering. Quanise graduated from the Blue Ridge Job Corps Center on May 29, 2014, having gone through the Certified Nurse Assistant and Medical Office Support programs. She then worked […]
Lashae McConnell
Lashae McConnell came to Job Corps in May 2017 because she didn’t have a college degree and wanted to accomplish more in her life. While enrolled at the Blue Ridge Job Corps Center, Lashae completed her certifications for Certified Nursing Assistant, Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR), First Aid, and ServSafe. […]
Niah Marble
After seeing a Job Corps ad, Niah Marble thought it would be a great program to help her start a career. She enrolled and began her training at the Blue Ridge Job Corps Center in October 2014. “Always stay focused on the reason you came to Job Corps in the first place. It won’t always […]
Alvin Barr
Alvin Barr works as a fully licensed Mercedes-Benz automotive technician in Union, N.J., where he gets to do what he loves every day: updating and repairing luxury vehicles. But he wasn’t always able to have his work be so fulfilling. When Alvin was 18, he was working a retail job in Somerset, N.J., and felt […]
Courtney Turner
After her honorable discharge from the U.S. military, Courtney Turner was looking to take the next step in her career. That’s when she found the Earle C. Clements Job Corps Center in Kentucky. Courtney got right to work training in the heavy equipment operator training area at Earle C. Clements. While on center, she was […]
Tim Sever
Before he enrolled in the Harpers Ferry Job Corps Center in Harpers Ferry, W.Va., 22-year-old Tim Sever says that he lacked purpose. Not anymore. Now, Tim works as an expanded dispatch recorder and initial attack dispatcher trainee in the Monongahela National Forest Fire Dispatch Center, earning $26.40 an hour. Tim’s mother encouraged him to make […]
Eileah Morris
Originally from Roanoke, Va., Eileah Morris enrolled in Blue Ridge Job Corps in April 2017. “I was going down the wrong path, and I wanted better for myself,” Eileah said. “Blue Ridge Job Corps helped me learn to be successful, not only in my career, but in all aspects of my life.” She recently graduated […]
Joycelyn Wroten
Joycelyn Wroten arrived at Blue Ridge Job Corps in May of 2017, from Columbia, S.C. She had graduated from high school but wanted to further her education. She learned about Job Corps while researching programs online. “I wanted to make it out of the situation that I was in and become a better version of […]
Aaliyah Bland
Aaliyah Bland spent her childhood and most of her adolescence in Hawaii, where she graduated from James Campbell High School. Originally, she had no plans to pursue education beyond high school, but she began wanting more out of life. “If you want something, you have to work hard for it, and Job Corps can help […]