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.”