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He Lost His Mother and Brother and Vowed to Walk a Different Path

“At the end of the day, it’s your future and it’s your goal to get where you want be at.”

Branden McMillian, originally from Albany New York, is a high school graduate who completed the security trade at a Job Corps center in New York. Now, he’s at the Shriver Job Corps Center in Massachusetts where he’s just completed the advanced training Transportation Communications Union program, also known as TCU.

Instructor Andrew Algarin says, “TCU is an excellent trade for students because it gets them great paying jobs.”

Branden says he started at Amtrak at 17 dollars an hour and is excited about the great opportunities for growth. Why did he choose Job Corps?

“College costs a lot,” he says, “and I didn’t have that much money. So, I decided to go there [Job Corps] to better my life.”

And, that’s exactly what he did.

“I’m proud of myself because I’ve been through a lot.”

Branden’s mother and brother died from drug use when he was just nine years old. He grew up quickly. He had to.

“I learned not to follow their path. And coming here, I am proud of myself. I feel like I’m being a better man and learning a lot. And, if my Mom was here, she would be proud of me also. And, my brother.”

Branden as you can tell believes in Job Corps and has accomplished a lot, which isn’t much of a surprise to those who know him.

“Branden’s a great kid,” says his instructor. “Very motivated, worked hard; did what he needed to do to get the job, and he never gave up.”

“I’m really proud of myself for going to Job Corps because it helped me out a lot—definitely, yes.”