Angela Layana

Angela Layana, Red Rock Job Corps, Lopez, PA

 Angela says that it was always expected of her to fail, just like everyone else she grew up with in her neighborhood.  A native of Miami, Fla., little did she know how a trip to Pennsylvania and Job Corps would change her life.“Why should anyone have thought any differently when I had done nothing to prove them wrong?” she explains. “The words, ‘you will always fail’ were engraved so deeply in my mind that I began to believe it.” One credit short from obtaining a high school diploma just added fuel to the fire.  While visiting her brother in Lancaster, PA, Angela had no luck during a three-month job search. “My brother told me that I should ‘just give up,’ and accused me of not really trying.” He, too, told Angela that she was a failure.  Jokingly, he said that she should try Job Corps, but would probably fail at that, too. “It was at that moment I decided to challenge everyone who called me a failure, including myself.  Job Corps was my chance to get rid of the picture everyone had of me—that of a failure.” Since arriving at Red Rock Job Corps Center in Lopez, PA, Angela has exceeded her own expectations. In three short months, she has:

• Obtained her GED within the first 3-4 weeks at Red Rock
• Began training, and is doing well in the Hotel and Hospitality Program
• Was elected Student Government Association Treasurer
• Participates in student peer and recreation activities
• Made lots of friends

In Angela’s own words:

“Job Corps has taught me that if I wish to achieve something, I CAN do it. The mentors and friends I’ve met at Job Corps along with my training have given me the skills I need to succeed.”