Contact: Roger Givens, Business and Community Liaison

                 662-609-9424

August 31, 2011

Students from the Finch-Henry Job Corps Center participated in National Job Corps Commencement Day on August 30. For the first time ever, graduation celebrations occurred on the same day at most of the 124 Job Corps centers across the country.   National Job Corps Commencement Day was held on the same day President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Economic Opportunity Act creating Job Corps in 1964. 

State Representative Chuck Espy of Clarksdale was the guest speaker. Espy recounted his early days after college and the issues he faced in getting a job and the funds he needed to adequately cover his needs. Espy congratulated the graduates for completing the Job Corps program and told them and the other students in attendance, “you must set your goals high and work hard to accomplish them. You are not just competing with the person next to you.., you are also competing with workers in other countries”. Over sixty five graduates representing nine (9) skill areas were on center to participate in the graduation ceremony.   

Job Corps is a unique national program that provides a safe environment for at-risk youth to prepare for successful careers or additional education. Nationally, about 87% of Job Corps graduates go on to find jobs, continue to higher education or enlist in the military. Job Corps also promotes local job creation and economic support. For every dollar invested in the average Job Corps center, almost $2 is returned to the local economy.

For more information, visit http://finchhenry.jobcorps.gov.