Modeled after the iconic “Rosie the Riveter,” the campaign features one young Job Corps woman from each region, who:

• Demonstrates hard work and ambition
  in pursuing her goals.
• Strives to go beyond expectations
  with work-based learning opportunities
• Is a leader on center

Anyone who knows Graciela can agree that she meets all the above criteria. In interviewing her for this nomination, she was exceptionally grateful to her UAW instructors for being such great role models for her and to the Clearfield staff for the opportunities she’s received.

Graciela is being featured on the Job Corps Facebook, which you can visit (outside of the Job Corps network)
at http://facebook.com/DOLjobcorps.

How is this female student a leader on center?

Graciela leads by example. Growing up in a rough neighborhood, she didn’t see
very many people get out and make a life worth living. Her cousins were involved
in the gang life, one of them was shot and is now in a wheelchair for life.
She became incredibly motivated to avoid becoming a stereotype and to push harder
to achieve her goals. She made the choice to join Job Corps in Los Angeles
and later made the choice to leave her whole family behind to pursue more education
through the Advanced Automotive program at Clearfield.

At Clearfield, Graciela is a woman in a male-dominated trade who provides a good role model for
current and future students, regardless of gender. Her enthusiasm for her trade is
infectious. She is also president of her dorm and has an after school job on campus.

How does this female student demonstrate hard work and a positive attitude
in her academic classes and/or career training area?

After completing Basic Automotive at Los Angeles Job Corps, Graciela was accepted
into the Advanced Diesel Program at Clearfield Job Corps. Since her arrival at
Clearfield, Graciela has been a star student.

Her average grades are consistently 90% or higher and she is always on time
and on task. She is also willing to assist other students to understand the material
and takes up any task asked of her with enthusiasm. She has completed a WorkBased
Learning internship at local dealership Ed Kenley Ford and done very
well. She is currently completing an inhouse Work Based Learning assignment
building training aids for future classes. She also took the initiative to
learn welding during her down time expand her employability skills. She
consistently pushes herself to gain additional skills and not settle for any
less than she can accomplish. To date, she has passed five Automotive
Service Excellence (ASE) tests and plans on testing for two more. Beyond
that, Graciela is humble and is outspoken about everything Job
Corps has done to help change her life. She has earned the respect of
her fellow students and instructors because of her work ethic, capability
and willingness to share what she’s learned with others.

Why did you nominate this female student for the “We Can Do It!”
campaign?

Graciela is a prime example of Job Corps not just changing lives through
opportunity, but changing lives through helping youth find their passion.
She embodies the independence, skill, knowledge and hard work
that Job Corps brings out in its students.

She is an exceptional role model for women and helps demonstrate
why women can do absolutely anything they set their minds to.