The Jacksonville Job Corps Center hosted it’s commence exercise on August 21, 2015 qt the Hicks Auditorium in downtown Jacksonville.  Over 300 family, friends, staff, students, community partners and congressional supporters celebrated the 60 graduates recieving diplomas, certtificates, class rings and congressional congratulations.   The students recieved certifications in electrical, material handling, facility maintenance, medical assisting, certified nursing assisting carpentry, computer services technology, pharmacy tech, and office administration.

The graduates were praised with letters of congratulations from Congresswoman Corrine Brown and Congressman Ander Crenshaw. Jacksonville Job Corps joined 125 Job Corps centers across the country in celebrating the 5th annual National Job Corps Commencement Day.

The Honorable Paula Wright (Member, Duval County School Board)  delievered the commencment address at the August 21st ceremony.  Her message was simple and to the point, “never give up, follow your dreams”. Ms. Wright congratulated the graduates on all their accomplishments and encouraged them to strive for success by believing in themselves and following their dreams. “You are our future and the succes of our country will depend on you”.

Mr. Dominick Carter, a member of the graduating class delivered a profound and heartfelt message to his peers.  He said, “as we look back on yesterday we share many fond memories which collectively began on some Tuesday morning  long ago.  For some of us that day simply meant getting out of bed and riding down Goldfair Blvd.  For others it meant weeks of planning and packing, getting up early and telling your loved ones good-bye as you journey to a city that you’ve never seen before.  We all made it through our first month or so, and chose a trade and for most of us stayed the course and completed, others quickly found out that trade wasn’t for them and changed.  No matter your personal path we all made it.  Now we are all high school graduates and proficient in a trade.  We can square our shoulders and walk with confidence into our tomorrow knowing that we have the tools to sculpt our own future.

It was an amazing day for the graduates and their families.  The program ended with the pesentation of JTM rings, SGA Awards and a charge to the graduates from Center Director Shawn Murphy.