On June 9, the bridge between South Florida youth and US government leaders united when 4 students from Miami and Homestead Job Corps Centers met with Congresswoman Ros-Lehtinen and shook hands with her prestigious visitor, former President of Honduras, Ricardo Madoro, at the Congresswoman’s Miami District Office.  The event made headlines in the media, with The Miami Gardens Observer and South Dade News Leader newspapers covering the story.

As part of the National Job Corps Mentor a Job Corps Student day initiative, Job Corps students from across the nation, including those from Homestead and Miami, engaged in one-day internships where they shadowed Congressional staffers in a typical 9-5 day.  This unique event, sponsored by the Friends of Job Corps Congressional Caucus, was designed to expose Job Corps youth to the inner-workings of a congressional district office.

The students who represented Miami Job Corps were Dana Caldwell and Mercedes Akins.  Akins and Caldwell are Members of MJCC’s Student Government Association and both are pursuing the Business Technologies trade on campus.   The student ambassadors from Homestead Job Corps, Mario Bellamy and Erica Johnson, are Delta Squad Leaders and also J.U.M.P. Program (Joint Uniform Military Preparation Program) enrollees.   At HJCC, Bellamy is pursuing the Medical Assistant program, and Johnson is enrolled in the Security trade.

Students from both centers were selected after an interview process to determine which candidates were most eager to learn about their elected officials and the roles they have in protecting and strengthening local services to constituents.

According to Dana Caldwell from Miami Job Corps, the internship experience was an important day for her. “I will never forget meeting Congresswoman Ros-Lehtinen.  She was so sincere and welcoming to us, and I learned so much from my mentor Mr. Cruz, he has such an exciting job!” said Caldwell.

Ros Lehtinen’s staffers that served as mentors for this project included: Maytee Sanz-District Director; Alex Cruz-Communications Director; Daniel Pedreira-Congressional Aide and Ingrid Hoyos-Congressional Aide. “We were pleased to have the interns from Job Corps and it was rewarding to share my work experience as a mentor,” stated Congressional Aide Ingrid Hoyos.

Mentor a Job Corps Student Day sponsor, Friends of Job Corps Congressional Caucus, was established in 2006 to heighten the awareness and appreciation for Job Corps among policymakers, Administration decision-makers and the broader public.  Since its founding, the Caucus has helped establish a voice for Job Corps on Capitol Hill communicating the role Job Corps plays in the socio-economic well-being of local communities and the nation.

Job Corps is the most effective dropout recovery and career preparation program in the nation. The program succeeds because it is market-driven and responds to employers’ needs.  Job Corps’ unique residential nature allows the program to provide young adults’ not only high school diplomas and industry-recognized credentials, but also the quality social and employability skills training that employers regularly cite as the most important entry-level workforce qualification.