On Friday, September 4th, former Shriver Carpentry student Jonathan Ayala visited the center to share the story of his success working with the New York City Local #157 Carpentry Union and to present Instructor Dave Basilio with a large aerial photo of the site he is working on in the city.  Jonathan came to Shriver after a period of time when he was down on his luck.  He had been living in a homeless shelter and he was completely alone.  Jonathan was determined to take advantage of the housing and training provided at Shriver Job Corps Center.  He says that he took what his instructor had to say about hard work very seriously and he followed the rules and remained focused while he was in the program.  Upon completion of his training, Jonathan registered for the Carpenter’s Union in New York City.  He rented a room in Jew Jersey and began commuting to the city where he worked on the new World Trade Center buildings.  He said that the beginning weeks were grueling and often intimidating but, if you are willing to learn they will teach you.  Jonathan shared with the class that he brings home over $1000 a week with the overtime he does.  He has been feverishly saving his money with the ambition to buy a multi-family property.  Jonathan is so appreciative of what he gained from attending Job Corps that he said he wouldn’t mind becoming a Carpentry Instructor at Job Corps one day.  We are so very proud of Jonathan and we appreciate him coming out to share his inspiring success story with our students.