In 1999, Kevin Connor was a senior at Riverside High School, in north Spokane, playing sports and getting good grades. Until, that is, a bout with mononucleosis caused him to miss too many hours of school. He was told he’d have to repeat his senior year. Shortly after, Kevin came to the Curlew Job Corps, located 120 miles north. He had plans to hurry up and get his high school diploma and return to Spokane County to find a job. What happened to Kevin next can be summed up as nothing less than “divine destiny.”

Kevin comes from a family of talented bricklayers, his uncle, Dennis Albert, who started the brick masonry training program at Curlew Job Corps in 1979, Dennis’ father, a master mason, and several other relatives who were also involved in the industry. Kevin spent time exploring all the different training programs Curlew Job Corps had to offer, but when he shared the day with the International Masonry Institute’s bricklaying instructor, Richard See, he found that he had a natural talent for the trade. He spent the next year building on foundational skills and speed.

Kevin also trained and participated in the center’s wildland firefighting efforts. He was able to earn approximately $11,000 that summer and gain valuable work ethics and experience.

Kevin completed the bricklaying trade, bought a truck, put a down payment on a home with acreage, and immediately went to work for Great Northern Masonry, and more recently, Spilker Masonry, the biggest masonry contractor in Spokane, Washington. Kevin took to the work easily, earned his journeyman status, and soon was running work crews.

In November, 2012, Richard See retired. The International Masonry Institute held interviews to fill his position at Curlew Job Corps. You guessed it. Kevin got the job.

Kevin and his wife, Sherrie, and two of their three children will be, hopefully, spending many years in the Curlew area. Kevin is dedicated to helping Curlew Job Corps bricklaying students find their way into a rewarding and highly skilled industry.

It only goes to show that one door closed is another door opened. What could have been viewed as a major setback, turned out to be a gift.

Oh, and one last twist to the story. Jonas Elmore, International Masonry Institute Job Corps Director, in Washington, D.C., called to congratulate Kevin on his new position. Turns out that he, also, was a Job Corps graduate!