Charleston Job Corps graduate Maricela Perez is now working as a Reservist in the US Air Force and as a full-time civilian employee for Aircraft Structural Maintenance at McConnell Air Force Base in Wichita, KS. Additionally, she works part-time at a piano repair and a moving company called Sharps Repair.
Her dedication, drive, and success are due, in part, to the training Perez received at Charleston Job Corps.
A 2016 CJCC graduate, Perez completed the Medical Office Support and Dental Assisting training programs at Charleston Job Corps and earned certifications for Medical Office Support, Electronic Health Records, Radiology, and Infection Control. She was part of the Recreation
Leadership team on center participated in numerous volunteer opportunities on and off-campus and worked part-time for the last six months she attended Charleston Job Corps.

Perez also credits the “soft skills” she learned at Charleston Job Corps for
helping her prepare for a military career. “Job Corps helped prepare for the Air Force by teaching me to be punctual and organized. I also was prepared to know how best to study for tests that I must take for my job.”
When Perez graduated from high school in 2014 she planned on continuing her education at a university in Pennsylvania for dentistry. But she wasn’t sure she was ready for college, so her parents brought up the idea of Job Corps. “I chose to go to Charleston Job Corps to become a dental assistant.” Perez plans to return to school in the future, although she isn’t sure what she wants to study.

Perez is philosophical about the challenges and struggles she has faced in her life and what she learned from them. For example, “One of those was joining the Air Force. Going through Basic Training I learned to adapt to my surroundings quickly and embrace the change whether it is good or bad. I believe even the bad changes became good when I chose to learn from the changes.” Since enrolling in Job Corps, “my life has changed for the better and I am continuously improving in everything I do,” Perez said.