William Padilla grew up in San Jose, CA. While he was attending high school, his school lost accreditation. To make things worse, he was forced to leave his parent’s home at the age of 16.

Like many young people today, William found himself in a challenging situation and needed help. That’s when he turned to Job Corps to complete high school and learn a valuable technical trade.

“Job Corps also taught me to never quit, and that there are people out there that are willing to help,” William says.

He completed the program in 2012 at the Clearfield Job Corps Center in Utah, with both a high school diploma and his machining certification. He is now in the Army and works as a helicopter mechanic currently deployed to Germany. William is married with three kids and is based out of Oak Grove, Kentucky.

“Job Corps helped me get to where I am now,” he says, “and I’m so thankful for the program.”