Tiara Smith, age 22 from Saginaw, MI chose to come to the Gerald R. Ford Job Corps Center after deciding to further her education. She had already obtained her high school diploma, and was working two jobs before making this decision.

Tiara enrolled on November, 13^th 2012. “I was really nervous my first day on center, because it was a whole new experience, but the staff and students were very friendly and welcoming” said Tiara.

Tiara is nearly complete in the Culinary Arts trade. During her time here on center, she has received Student of the Month in Culinary Arts and overall Team2 Student of the Month. She is a silver card holder and working towards earning her gold card.

Tiara completed her work based learning through San Chez, a tapas bistro in Downtown Grand Rapids, and was offered a paid position with the award-winning restaurant within the first week of her internship. “It made me feel proud to know that to know that they thought I did that well, it was a boost to my confidence” stated Tiara.

Tiara will be taking the ServSafe Managers exam in the next few months and will be exiting the program shortly thereafter. Tiara has joined the Navy as a Master and Arms and her ship date is August 12, 2013.

“I am very grateful that I was given the opportunity to take the ASVAB, talk with the Navy recruiter and achieve my dream job of being in the military. Job Corps helped me look at possibilities that I hadn’t thought I was capable of achieving” said Tiara.

“I wouldn’t have gotten this far without the Job Corps program. Everything has its positives and negatives, but overall Job Corps as a whole is a very effective program” continued Tiara.

Gerald R. Ford Job Corps Student, Tiara Smith in front of San Chez in downtown Grand Rapids