Kayla Ybarra is new in town and recently became a student at the Sierra Nevada Job Corps Center in Reno, NV.

“I got here yesterday, and they made me feel welcome,” she says. “They took me around and showed me all around. They took me to my dorm and showed me everything in there. And they showed me where the cafeteria was and just all around the place.”

Kayla is from California and was experiencing some first-day jitters when she arrived on campus.

“I was a little nervous when I first got here, but now I feel more comfortable now. I’m starting to know people a little bit and it’s nice. So, yeah, I feel more comfortable now.”

Career Preparation Instructor and Supervisor Lamont Hall believes in these students.

“I [work] with all the new inputs that come into our center. So, all the new recruits will come in here, and it’s important to make them feel welcome. So, I’m doing my best to go out of my way, at times, just to stop by and say hi to them and to welcome them to the center, because everybody needs a friend.”

And it makes a difference according to Kayla.

“Mister Hall made me feel so welcome and he told me I would make it and to keep trying.”