After spending 28 years as a high school teacher in Northern Utah, Congressman Rob Bishop (R-UT) felt right at home today at Weber Basin Job Corps in Ogden. Congressman Bishop was the commencement speaker on August 30th at the Job Corps where more than 300 people were in attendance.

“Three qualities exist within successful people which allow them to succeed. First, they have a desire to win. Second, they have a determination to continue on

because it doesn’t always happen the first time. Lastly, they have the ability to understand that dull things are extremely important,” said Bishop.

Bishop left the students with these parting thoughts: “Keep playing the game. Be determined and you’ll be successful. I wish you the best. The rest of your lives you are on a path to success. Congratulations.”

It should be noted that Bishop stands by Job Corps during these tough economic times. Ever since he was put into office, Congressman Bishop has supported Job Corps by signing onto the Dear College Letter in support of Job Corps and he is a member of the Friends of Job Corps Congressional Caucus.

During the last year of budget cuts in Washington, when many youth programs were being eliminated–Job Corps received almost exactly what President Obama requested for Job Corps in 2011 $1.7 billion.

Since Job Corps was created 47 years ago, it has served more than 3 million out-of-work young adults and underserved youth, helping them overcome struggles to become active contributors to their communities. Approximately 86% of Job Corps graduates go on to find and keep jobs, enlist in the military or pursue higher education.

Job Corps is also a vital part of the local community. For every dollar invested in the average Job Corps center, almost $2 is returned to the local economy, including small-business support, additional tax revenue and lower public assistance costs.

Tuesday’s event marks the first time ever that the majority of the nation’s 124 Job Corps centers have held commencement celebrations on the same day to honor approximately 60,000 new and recent graduates.