On Wednesday, May 11th, a small group of Gerald R. Ford Job Corps Center students traveled to the State Capitol Building in Lansing, Michigan to participate in the 2011 Michigan Children’s event KidSpeak, Youth Speak Out: Achieving Success from Cradle to Career.  Before a 20 member panel and an audience of more than 60 people, students shared personal testimony about how Job Corps has positively impacted their lives.

KidSpeak is a youth public forum that empowers young people to advocate on their own behalf. The purpose of KidSpeak is to give youths a voice in the public policy debate related to the problems they and their families face everyday.  Operating on a statewide and local basis, KidSpeak brings youth before listening panels comprised of legislators, other officials and community leaders to talk about issues of concern to them.

Focusing on education, the participating Gerald R. Ford Job Corps Center students each gave a 2-3 minute personal testimony regarding their learning challenges before enrolling in Job Corps, and shared their accomplishments since arriving at Job Corps and their plans for the future.  Upon finishing their testimony, each student faced difficult questions by the panel members who were eager to explore why students had dropped out of high school and how programs like Job Corps positively impact students’ lives.  After more than two hours of student testimony, the panel unanimously agreed that alternative education and training programs, like the Gerald R. Ford Job Corps Center, are vital and provide much needed mentors to at-risk students with no where to turn.

Acknowledging the strength and courage it takes to provide personal testimony before a large group of strangers, the President and CEO of Michigan Children’s, Jack Kresnak as well as State Legislators, legislative staff, lobbyist, and other state officials all commended students for sharing their stories.  Immediately following the testimony students had the opportunity to attend a luncheon with their legislators and network with panel members.

“Participating in KidSpeak gave me the opportunity to share how the Job Corps program has helped me,” states student Ashley Smith, “it felt good to share my success and hopefully influence policy makers on the importance of Job Corps for the State of Michigan.”