“Our students have been doing community service at the Tijuana River Estuary for several years,” advised Randall Mann, Home Builders Institute (HBI) Electrical trade instructor at the the San Diego Job Corps Center.  “It’s an excellent hands-on opportunity for them to apply what they’re learning in the classroom, along with serving our community.”

“The students are polite, hard-working, and well-taught,” Mr. Schmoyer stated.  “For years we’ve worked with Randall and Plumbing instructor Paul Chilson, who’s now at Sweetwater Adult School.  Randall, Paul, and John are all great instructors and it’s been a pleasure working with them,” he continued.  “We could not have done all this work without Job Corps’ help.”

Nineteen year old Luis Nieves is one of the Job Corps’s plumbing students working at the Estuary.  “We learned how to solder in class, but this is the first time I’ve used it outside the classroom,” Nieves stated.  “I soldered 2 inch copper pipes and completing that gave me more confidence.  We’ve also learned how to problem solve and the importance of team work.”  Nieves, who recently moved back to San Diego from Alaska, plans on pursuing a career as a plumber when he completes Job Corps this spring.

Job Corps’ Plumbing trade recently worked on the Estuary’s main water shut off valve, and will soon be installing 600 feet of 2 inch PVC water lines to the storage building.  “It’s an on-going project,” advise John Gallagher, Job Corps’ HBI Plumbing traed instructor.  “The students enjoy being there, and it prepares all of them for their future careers.”

David Schmoyer, Maintenance Worker I, for the Tijuana River National Estuarine Research Reserve has been impressed with the students’ work.  “Job Corps has done several Estuary clean-ups in the past, they’ve worked on our exhibit area, and most recently worked on our new storage building,” he stated.   “They installed drains, vents, washer and dryer hook-ups in the building, and also ran copper lines to it.  I woud estimate their work has saved us at least $10,000 in labor costs.”