JOB CORPS NEWS

Deja Wallace Age: 22 Hometown: Williamsburg, VA Region: Philadelphia Center: Blue Ridge Dates enrolled: 8/23/2016- 4/19/2017 Training: CMA, MOS, Insurance Claims Processor Deja Marie Wallace enrolled at Blue Ridge Job Corps in August, 2016. She was twenty years old at...

Sarah Proffitt Age: 22 Hometown: Norfolk, VA Region: Philadelphia Center: Blue Ridge Dates enrolled: 5/8/2018- 1/9/2019 Training: Clinical Medical Assistant, CPR/First Aid Sarah Proffitt came to Blue Ridge Job Corps from her home town of Norfolk, VA. She had graduated...

Cheyenne Grogan Age: 23 Hometown: Hampton, VA Region: Philadelphia Center: Blue Ridge Dates enrolled: 2/9/2016- 9/26/2018 Training: CNA, CMA Cheyenne Grogan grew up in Hampton, VA and graduated in 2014 from New Kent High School. While she had earned her high school...

Meet... BreAnna Higgins Age: 22 Hometown: Walkerton, VA Center: Blue Ridge Enrollment Dates: 07/29/16 - 01/18/19 Career Area: Nurse Aide "I left Job Corps more prepared than I ever imagined," stated BreAnna Higgins. The recent Blue Ridge Job Corps Nurse Aide graduate...

Blue Ridge Job Corps students, staff, and community members joined together to honor 16 program completers during the graduation ceremony on February 22, 2019. A variety of supporters were in attendance, from elected officials, community leaders, family and friends,...

Angelica Washington Age: 22 Hometown: Richmond, VA Region: Philadelphia Center: Blue Ridge Dates enrolled: 8/16/2016- 11/28/2017 Training: CMA, High School Diploma Angelica Washington grew up with her mother and her sister in Richmond, VA. She attended Huguenot High...

“If you can’t fly then run, if you can’t run then walk, if you can’t walk then crawl, but whatever you do you have to keep moving forward.” These words were spoken by perhaps the most influential civil rights leader in history, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. On Saturday,...

Cleaisha Kidd Age: 21 Hometown: Chesterfield, VA Region: Philadelphia Center: Blue Ridge Dates enrolled: 7/25/2017- 11/07/2018 Certifications: CNA, High School Diploma Cleaisha Kidd decided to attend Blue Ridge Job Corps Center because she needed to stay out of...

Fifteen years ago, the Blue Ridge Job Corps Center started a holiday tradition of adopting families through the Santa Elves program. The program is managed by the Smyth County Department of Social Services and ensures that Santa remembers every child in Smyth County...

Fiona Erskine Age: 21 Hometown: Charlottesville, VA Region: Philadelphia Center: Blue Ridge Enrollment: 7/14/2015 – 6/22/2018 Certifications: Clinical Medical Assistant, Phlebotomy Technician, EKG Technician, Patient Care Technician, Medical Administrative Assistant,...

In honor of National Bullying Prevention Awareness Month, Blue Ridge Job Corps held a Unity Day on Friday, October 19. Throughout the day, staff and students were distributed into small groups, and moved from location to location across campus to participate in a...

On August 1, 2018, the Rich Valley Fair held its first annual Senior Health Fair sponsored by Ballad Health. The event was open to the public at no charge, and was an effort to reach the elderly in the area to inform them about various health care options and...

"Surround yourself with people who move forward in a positive direction," recommends Evelyn Skinner. After graduating from Blue Ridge Job Corps Center's License Practical Nursing (LPN) program in partnership with the Smyth Career & Technology Center on May 20,...

Jaida Hardy Age: 19 Hometown: Mecklinburg, North Carolina Center: Blue Ridge Region: Philadelphia Career Area: Medical Assistant Job Corps Dates: 10/4/16 - 12/13/17 "My mother has always been my rock and someone I look up to," said Jaida. "She pushed me to be the...

Rossana Garay Escalante Age: 19 Hometown: Richmond, VA Center: Blue Ridge Job Corps Center Region: Philadelphia Career Area: Medical Assistant Job Corps Dates: 7/18/17 - 03/17/18 Growing up in Venezuela, Rossana Garay Escalante and her family witnessed the deprivation...

In recognition of Alcohol Awareness Month, the Blue Ridge Job Corps Center welcomed Virginia State Trooper, Jay Ferland to Center on April 25, 2018, for a presentation on the inherent dangers of intoxication in association with the operation of motor vehicles....

For Women’s History month, Mrs. King, the reading instructor at Blue Ridge Job Corps, thought it would be a good idea for students to volunteer to interview female staff members on center to find out about their contributions to and gain a better understanding of...