Yosef Keleta, a former Muhlenberg Job Corps student, oozes with determination and the desire to succeed.  Keleta a native of Eritrea, a country on the Red Sea across from Yemen, lived in a refugee camp in Ethiopia before coming to the United States to settle in Atlanta, Georgia.  He signed up for Job Corps and eventually enrolled as a student at the Muhlenberg Job Corps.  Keleta, an exceptional student, showed the desire to learn and advance in the program that offered him hope for the future.  Even though he had to overcome a language barrier he excelled in everything he attempted while a student at Muhlenberg.

 Keleta enrolled at Muhlenberg in December of 2010 and graduated on August 24, 2012.  While a student at Job Corps he obtained his high school diploma and technical training completions in medical office support and heavy equipment operator classes.  He obtained a work based learning position with Electro-Cycle in Madisonville, Kentucky while completing his training.  Keleta’s employiment at Electro-Cycle enabled him to save enough money to buy a car, pay the insurance on the car and pay his first month’s rent on his apartment. 

 Keleta currently is employed at Carhartt Manufacturing in Madisonville, Kentucky as a fork lift operator.  He picks orders that are shipped to retail  store outlets all across the United States.  His job requires him to be hoisted 60 feet in the air to pick the orders he is pre-assigned each night.  Keleta earns a base salary and gets incentive pay for making production goals set by the company. 

 Keleta says, “Job Corps has provided me the training and education I needed to be successful in today’s work world.  I owe a debt of gratitude to the Job Corps program for all they have done for me the past two years.  Job Corps is a great program and will work for any young person willing to work hard and take the program seriously.”   Kenny Brown, Center Director at Muhlenberg says,  “Keleta has been a great student during his tenure at Muhlenberg.  He is just one of many success stories the Job Corps program produces each year.”