Ari Benarrous was 18, aimless and didn’t have a place to live.

She had been at a boarding school in Utah and didn’t want to return to L.A., to what she called a rough home situation. She hadn’t graduated from high school and knew it would be difficult to get hired even to a low paying job.

That was when she learned about Job Corps and decided to apply.

“I was honestly looking for anywhere to go,” Benarrous said, now 19. “I want to be able to get a job, get my own place and all that stuff. But I didn’t have anywhere to get those things from.”

She was accepted to the Wind River Job Corps in Riverton, Wyoming, and said she has now found a new direction in life. In less than a year at the campus, Benarrous has gotten her GED and driver’s license. The most exciting thing for this teen is now she has something to put on her resume.

Her welding certification.

Learning The Trades

Young adults like Benarrous who want to go into the trades but cannot afford a traditional education have the option of going to the federally funded Wind River Job Corps, a free education and vocational training program for 16- to 24-year-olds who meet the criteria.

Students live on campus and come from all over the United States with 40% currently from Wyoming. The trades offered at the center are specific to Wyoming’s labor market. It is the only job corps in America that offers training for petroleum technicians.

“During their time here, we try to get them out into the community to do what we call work-based learning,” Center Director Matthew Davis said. “They are working with employers or local cities on projects that use their skills from their trade.”

The goal of Job Corps is that each student would leave with a job waiting for them when they finish the program.

“When I first got here, I didn’t think that I would be able to complete my high school,” 24-year-old Jamie Maloid, a recent graduate of the petroleum trade said. “But now that I’ve got the fundamentals down, I feel like a new man.”

Maloid didn’t even know math basics or how to balance a checkbook when he arrived at Job Corps. His mom was struggling when he was younger, so his family bounced around and he wasn’t able to stay in school. It was his brother who encouraged him to apply to the free trades program.

“I’d probably still be working a low paid job,” Maloid said. “A dead-end job rather than a career in the oil field.”

Family Legacies

Moses Shepherd, 22, is another recent graduate from Job Corps who is planning to drive truck and is in the heavy equipment operators trade program.

Originally, Shepherd was playing football at the university in West Palm Beach, Florida, but he ended up dropping out. He was purposeless and starting to get into trouble when his mom suggested he investigate Job Corps.

It was a program that both she and his dad had gone through.

“My parents said that instead of going through what you’re going through, help yourself out and go to Job Corps,” Shepherd said, “I’m now doing heavy equipment operator and I’m also getting my CDL Class A. I’m ready to start my career and start my life.”

Davis sees these stories of his graduates as proof that the program is succeeding and supporting the Wyoming economy by giving people marketable skills.

“In many cases, we’re taking folks who didn’t have a high school diploma and helping them attain that,” Davis said. “They are also getting these very specified skills and along with credentials and work experience.”

Many of the Job Corps students get actual work experience outside the classroom by working with the cities of Riverton, Lander and Dubois on projects that benefit the community.

“It can be overwhelming at times,” Shepherd admitted. “But, in order to get to where you want to be, you have to do things you don’t want to do. So, I just keep that in mind and just keep pushing through.”

Back Into The Real World

Norda Armstrong, 19, joined Job Corps because her parents said it would help her get a good job and she could then afford to buy the things that she was wanting to buy. She ultimately decided to join the carpentry program because, to her, creating anything she put her mind to out of wood was magical.

“I learned how to use a handsaw, which was very difficult and painful,” Armstrong said. “I learned all about green build and how to install drywall.”

She is now on the path of a job search and trying to find that good paying job she once only dreamt about. Before she is released from the program, Armstrong is expected to follow one of five career pathways.

“Before we actually let any of our graduates go, they need to either have a job or be going to an advanced training, a registered apprenticeship, the military or college,” Job Corps Coordinator Jerri Prejean said. “We still keep track of our kiddos even after they graduate.”

After they graduate, the Department of Labor, who oversees the program, requires that Job Corps follow each student for a year to make sure that they are still employed. If they are not, Job Corps will help find them find a new job placement.

There were 45 graduates in the latest class to don the blue robes at Wind River Job Corps this past month. Now these students are looking ahead to their futures beyond the campus. They are also encouraging others to take a chance and apply to the programs themselves.

“If you’re looking to change your life for the better, this is definitely the right way to go.” Shepherd said. “It will teach you a lot of life skills and work skills. It’s an all-around good program.”

Jackie Dorothy can be reached at jackie@cowboystatedaily.com.