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Back on Center – Only This Time With a New Mission

Video Shot Before COVID-19 Pandemic

Job Corps graduate Sam Hume believes Job Corps works.

Still Sam Hume
Sierra Nevada Job Corps

“Yes, I do!,” he says, “One hundred percent. Job Corps works. One hundred percent!”

Sam graduated from Sierra Nevada Job Corps in 2011. But today, he was on the campus looking to hire new employees. Sam is the guest experience manager at Squaw Creek Hotel Resort in Lake Tahoe, California.

Sam always has time to listen to students when he meets with them and enjoys giving a little advice.

“You know a big thing for me with Job Corps is, when I came in, I didn’t have a lot of people in my life that truly cared about me. The staff here cares.”

Still Sam Hume
Sierra Nevada Job Corps

After finishing high school, Sam said college didn’t go well, nor did several job opportunities. He had no support network and emotionally crashed, even requiring medical attention.

He came across a Job Corps pamphlet, and after a long recovery, was accepted into Job Corps. He knew immediately he had made the right decision.

“I just knew there were people around me that finally, really cared. You know, they actually cared about me, and I didn’t have that in my life before. I think that was a big thing for me. These complete strangers, the staff here, care. And they, 100 percent, care about their students here at this center. And that made me care about myself. Which is what I needed to succeed.”

Sam visited the center hoping to hire some of these students, but as you look in his eyes, you can tell that he wanted these students to understand something.

“You know I think the biggest thing for me is making sure these students take advantage of every opportunity. I really want all of the students here to realize how many benefits they have and how many things they can take advantage of while they’re here on center. And, do it!”

Another reason he believes in Job Corps: “It’s putting new people into the workforce, trained individuals into the work force.”

What did he feel, seeing and visiting with these young people?

Still Sam Hume
Sierra Nevada Job Corps

“Hope. Hope for them. Every time I see a student I kind of wonder, ‘I know where I was before I came to Job Corps, and I wonder what they were going through right now and before they came here.’ And if I can get one student to come here to visit, to graduate, and to succeed, that really makes it worth it for me.”