Kiana Smith is an incredible MTC Job Corps graduate! She studied automotive at Hawaii Job Corps and moved to the MTC-operated Clearfield Job Corps for advanced training in automotive.

She’s been so successful, the Department of Labor is using her story on their website to promote women in non-traditional trades. Hawaii Job Corps Center Director Ellen May was so proud, she wanted all of MTC to know.

Kiana was up to the challenge of choosing a career path in a male-dominated industry. Now she’s inspiring other young women to step outside their comfort zone, too. Whether you want a career in automotive, IT or anything in between, Job Corps has a path for you.

Kiana say she believes in Job Corps. Of the many great life skills she’s learned at Job Corps, respect stands out.

“Respect is huge on campus because the staff treat us with respect, and therefore we reciprocate that respect. It also ties into our aloha spirit which allows us to form strong bonds with each other which will help us in the workplace.”

So, why did Kiana she chose to train in the automotive repair field?

“I chose this field because there’s not a lot of women in the automotive field. I wanted to challenge myself and all the women out there to step out of their comfort zone and try something different. In fact, I have two nieces, they’re five and six years old, and when I told them about what I’m learning here, they were really inspired, and they’re considering trying new thing as well. It feels good to me to inspire young women to step out of their comfort zones and try new things.”