The dusty desert town of Pahrump, Nevada lies 400 miles due south of the Sierra Nevada Job Corps Center in Reno. Pahrump was home to 20-year-old Hipolito Lopez before he came to Job Corps in August 2019 to study to become an electrician and to start a new chapter in his life. Fast forward to now: Hipolito has been back home on extended leave for the last six months due to the pandemic, but Hipolito has a plan, and Covid-19 isn’t going to derail him.  Fortunately, students can continue learning through Job Corps’ distance-learning program.

“To be honest,” he says, “it’s hard to go to work on a computer when you are staying at home. At first, I had to force myself, but It’s easier now. I work every day on my HBI [Home Builders Institute] modules. I have just a few left to do. When I finish the electrical sections, I’ll concentrate on solar. Distance Learning is important because it will allow me to finish training quicker, so I can go get a good job with great money a lot sooner.” 

Hipolito started looking for a job fresh out of high school.

“I didn’t have much luck. For me, I found it was more of a “who you know” game than anything else. I was getting frustrated. Then, my friend Omar, a Job Corps graduate, recommended the program to me. It was difficult leaving my family and friends, but I wanted to find the better me at Job Corps, and I have succeeded. I haven’t looked back.”

Hipolito clearly sees the value of the Job Corps program.

“Job Corps is quite an experience.  It’s worth your while to go…Job Corps not only teaches a trade, it teaches people self-control, manners, and self-sufficiency.”