Horizons Youth Services

Carl D. Perkins student Amber Jones gets more out of Job Corps than just job training

Most students enroll in Job Corps to gain skills to help them launch successful careers and gain independence. Amber Jones_, a 20-year-old student from Miami, Fla., is getting those skills, but she also is getting much more from Job Corps. In addition to completing the hospitality career technical training program at the Carl D. Perkins Job Corps Center, and enrolling in the Culinary Arts program there, Amber also has gained the knowledge and self-confidence she needs to pursue a healthier, happier life.

Amber, who enrolled in the Perkins Job Corps program on Oct. 24, 2011, came to the center weighing 225 pounds. Soon after arriving she began using the center’s weight room and gym facilities each evening, and started learning more about nutrition from the Wellness staff. Her new knowledge and fitness routines have paid off – she has lost 65 pounds since enrolling in Job Corps and is continuing her goal to reach her target weight. Amber stated that her successful weight loss not only has made her a healthier person but has given her a new self -confidence and a sense of pride in herself that she has never had before.

Amber said that coming to Job Corps was the best decision that she had ever made. In addition to learning so much from her CTT programs, she has received the encouragement from staff she needed to make necessary changes in her mental and physical health that will benefit her throughout her life. She has developed a positive attitude that she can do anything she sets her mind to do in life.

Amber’s advice to other young people is: “Don’t walk around mad and angry at the world each day. That attitude will waste so much time and energy.  Always keep a positive attitude and believe in yourself, and you can achieve anything.”  

“Job Corps changes your life completely,” Amber said.