Carl D. Perkins Job Corps security graduate Rayshad Thompson continues to succeed in his career in law enforcement, six years after graduating from the Perkins center.

Thompson currently works as a correctional officer for Miami Dade Corrections and Rehabilitation in Miami, FL, one of the largest correctional systems in the United States. Miami Dade Corrections and Rehabilitation is responsible for the care, custody and control of 4,000-4,200 persons incarcerated in its detention facilities, awaiting trial or serving sentences of 364 or fewer days.

Thompson enrolled at the Perkins Job Corps Center in January 2012, needing his high school diploma and a second chance. He excelled at the Perkins center, completing the Security & Protective Services career technical training program, earning his high school diploma, and logging in more than 500 hours of work-based learning, working at special events and community projects. A top leader on campus, Thompson served as president of the Perkins Job Corps Student Government Association.

After completing the Job Corps program in December 2013, Thompson returned to Miami to take a job as a supervisor for the Platinum Group security firm, where he worked for three years before moving into his current position as a correctional officer for Miami Dade Corrections and Rehabilitation.

Addressing his comments to the Perkins Job Corps staff and former Security Instructor Carl Wilson, Thompson said, “I would like to thank all of the staff and you, Mr. Wilson, for believing in me. I didn’t know then what a future looked like. But since I graduated from Perkins with the skills and knowledge you taught me, I am now seeing what a future is.”