There was a time when Arturo Sanchez (Carpentry) really struggled.

But that time isn’t now.

Sanchez is Whitney M. Young Job Corps Center’s latest bell-ringer. He graduated March 9 and he’s headed off to a career with KI Lumber.

Sanchez had a difficult time adjusting when the pandemic struck and almost left the program. Without consistent internet, instructors had to rely on hard copies mailed to him.

“There were many times when he was frustrated,” Training Director Stephen Burch said, adding that there were times his stress reached a near breaking point. “[He] grew frustrated enough to say ‘You know what, I’m just not going to be able to continue the program.’”

But Whitney didn’t give up on him.

“Through interventions from myself and what we call a case management team…we made sure he was motivated,” Burch said. “We continued to support him, we continued to help him, we walked him through some of the content so that he was able to experience success.”

And when Burch saw Sanchez back on campus, he saw something entirely new in him.

“It looked like confidence, it looked like someone who had a smile on their face when they were learning,” he said. “He told me just the other day that for the first time in his life, he feels confident that anything he sets his mind to, he can accomplish.”

At the time of interview, Sanchez said it still hadn’t quite sunk in.

“I can’t believe that I finished this place,” Sanchez said.

But it wasn’t unreal enough that he wasn’t excited about what comes next.

“I’m going to start working. I’m going to start building my life right now,” Sanchez said.

It’ll be a challenge, Sanchez said, but he feels ready. With the friends he made, and the skills he built – both in his carpentry trade and his life skills – can make it happen.

“This place makes it easy for me,” he said.

He added one last word of advice for any current Job Corps students.

“If you’re here in Job Corps, when people say ‘stay out of drama’, that’s really true,” he said. “Listen to what people tell you to do and don’t be making trouble all the time.”