Jared Long already had experience in the workplace and already had been exposed to welding. But Job Corps gave him the knowledge to truly excel.

Long, who is Whitney M. Young Jr. Job Corps Center’s Alumni of the Quarter for the end of 2022, had a stepgrandfather who owned a welding shop. He grew up experiencing a lot of exposure to the craft, and years later, when he tired of working in temporary agencies, Long decided to seek something more fulfilling.

“I got tired of going from one place to the next, readjusting, changing hours,” he said.

Job Corps provided him a free way to do that, despite not initially being interested in the program. Now, he finds it got him what he needed.

But Long did not receive his education at a typical time. He graduated in 2020, right on the cusp of the pandemic.

But somehow, the timing lined up perfectly.

“I had made it through all of my shop work, so I had moved on to the majority of my book work,” he said. “They sent me home with that to do. When I finished that, I was pretty much done.”

He didn’t get a chance to do everything he wanted, but he got what he needed. It lined him up for a job with Middletown Metalworks in Berea, Ky.

And Job Corps made it possible.

“Up until I’d made it to Job Corps, I hadn’t really done anything with my life. I was just a person going through the motions,” he said. “Job Corps opened up its doors to me and gave me the ability to get an education.”