Carl D. Perkins Job Corps graduate Peter Larkin is proof that Job Corps changes lives. Larkin, 29, now is a full-time technician employed at Toyota in Florence, KY, owns and manages his own business, Larkin’s Lube, Express & Mechanical, and has purchased his first house.That’s a far cry from his life before Job Corps — a high school graduate who attended culinary school but was still struggling to find employment. That changed once he enrolled in Perkins Job Corps in November 2010. Two and half years later, Larkin had completed the bricklaying and carpentry career technical training programs and two semesters of college toward an associate degree in business administration. After Job Corps, Larkin pursued work and
continued his education. Today, he’s an enthusiastic advocate of the Job Corps program. “I wouldn’t trade my experience for anything. It opened doors for me I wouldn’t have had without it.” But he also stresses that students have to be committed to the program to get its benefits. “Job Corps is what you make it. It can be a great new experience to give you a step up in life, or you can choose to mope your way through it and miss all the benefits.”Larkin recalls his grandmother telling him, “Don’t ever say you can’t do anything. If you put your mind to it, you can do it!” This is the motto Larkin lives by and he
challenges all Job Corps students to do the same.