Blue Ridge Job Corps joined 121 Job Corps centers across the country to celebrate the 10th Annual “National Job Corps Commencement Day” ceremony on September 9, 2021, to congratulate the Job Corps students who showed Job Corps Works! by completing the program this year. Due to precautions against COVID-19, this year’s ceremony was conducted virtually.

Recent Job Corps graduates, employer partners, local policymakers, community leaders, family members and many others recognized these students’ achievements and the investment they made in their futures and community.

“You are our healthcare workers of tomorrow,” said Lisa Mitchell, who served as keynote speaker during the ceremony. Mitchell serves as a nurse manager at Mel Leaman Free Clinic and works closely with BRJCC students as a nursing preceptor. Urging graduates to always show kindness, Mitchell stated, “patients may forget your name, but they’ll never forget the way you made them feel.”

Blue Ridge Job Corps is one of 121 Job Corps centers located across the country. A unique national program, Job Corps offers underserved youth a set of diverse academic opportunities and career pathways tailored to meet the needs of business and industry. Each year, Job Corps gives tens of thousands of youth a second chance to complete their education and advance into careers, higher education, or the military.

Taleya Pantovich represented the class of 2021 as the graduate speaker for the commencement. During her time in the program, she earned a myriad of certifications, including Medical Administrative Assistant and Patient Care Technician, but she admitted that it wasn’t always easy. “COVID-19 presented many challenges for Job Corps students, and it would have been easy to give up,” she explained, “but I want to congratulate each of the graduates for sticking it out. We made it!”

Job Corps has served more than 3 million out-of-work young adults and underserved youth nationally. Many are high-school dropouts or public-assistance recipients, and Job Corps helps them become active contributors to their communities.

“By completing the Job Corps program in the midst of a global pandemic, you’ve accomplished something that has never been done before, said Neal Randol, the Center Director for BRJCC. “Please remember that you are able to do more than you believe; you are stronger and more courageous than you know.”

Local community leaders who have worked with Job Corps volunteers also joined the celebration to congratulate many of their student volunteers. Job Corps students and staff work with local community-based organizations and nonprofits, logging many hours of volunteer service every year. Town of Marion Mayor David Helms offered his congratulations and encouraged graduates to return to Marion to visit. “We wish you all the best of luck,” he stated, “and we look forward to seeing what you’ll do in the future.”

Dolores Boehm, BRJCC’s Community Relations Council President, offered closing remarks, which included a touching tribute to William A. Fields, who spent 30 years as a staff member of Blue Ridge Job Corps. “You will have good days and bad days,” she expressed, “successes and disappointments, but do not get discouraged. Use these setbacks, to propel you to greater things, and in the words of Mr. Fields, take it ‘one day at a time.’”

“The 10th Annual National Job Corps Commencement Day is an extremely special day for our program,” said National Job Corps Association Acting Executive Director, Brendan O’Hara. “The Job Corps community – our students, their families, center staff, operators, community leaders, employer partners and supporters – worked hard to transform futures that will lead to a lifetime of preparation and success. The devotion of our community is why Job Corps has such strong bipartisan support in Congress and why it continues to be the most successful job training program for America’s underserved youth.”