Introduction to Center Life

  

It is my 13th day here on center. I'm pretty well adjusted to life here and I've got it down pretty much routine. Very basic. Wake up at 6. Breakfast at 6:15. Back in my room at 6:45. Get dressed, tidy up, do my dorm job, and I'm off to class by 7:30. Class doesn't start until 8:00 but that gives me time to hang out before the long 8 hr day. Class and stuff still isn't too regular. They still have not placed me or my ICL (Introduction to Center Life) brothers and sisters into high school or GED classes. We have to take a TABE test to see if we know basic studies. I believe that starts tomorrow. After we pass (or TABE out as they call it) they will put us into school. I've decided to get my GED classes and then I can get my highschool diploma when I graduate from Job Corps. I only have two years here and I think it's best that I get the most trades I can while I have this opportunity. Many of the students think that 2 years is a long time, and I feel like I've been here forever, but I know that they will fly by. -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 I came here to this Job Corps to study for my certification in auto mechanics / heavy equipment operating (HEO). Once I arrived I realized that I would be better off taking heavy equipment repair (HER), making me qualified in both operating heavy equip. and repairing diesel motors. Great!... or so I thought. As it turns out you have to be 17 1/2 to be in HER or HEO. I also am not old enough to participate in the fire crew. The center director told me something about a liability issue? What kind of excuse is that? There are plenty of ways around that. Both my parents can sign a waiver that says I may be able to take that class / participate in that activity, and if something were to happen, there would be no legal conflict whatsoever. At Sequim High, they have freshmen, 14 year olds, build cars from the ground up. All students are able to weld and use power saws, no matter how young or old they may be. The local fire dept. has a program called Explorers where young adults ages 16 - 21 are trained to be junior firefighters. They are called out to emergencies and practice with the seasoned firefighters putting out live fires on buildings and cars. They are sent into smokey buildings and high danger situations. Now please, explain to me WHY it is okay there and not here? And WHY, if the staff and counselors knew I would not be able to get into my desired trade, did they encourage me to come here? WHY do they continuously tell students that they believe in equal opportunity, that discrimination is absolutely not tolerated, yet they tell ME that I am not eligible for most of the trades here? THAT IS DISCRIMINATION! I do not have the same opportunity as all the other students. I asked the center director those questions (In front of the whole ICL class, whom all agreed with me), and he looked dumbfounded. Had no other student realized that their rights were being withheld? He told me about this "liability issue" and that the Dept. of Labor decided it. When I retaliated with tears of frustration in my eyes he said, "I can see that you are getting very emotional about this and we will have to get you with a counselor and talk about this situation later."  I was so angry that I told him, "This whole thing is WRONG. Who are YOU to decided what my dreams should and should not be?". He was not very happy with that answer. Later, the center director pulled me into his office and began to speak to me like I was some emotional 16 year old girl, stuck in her own world of overdramatization. He asked me why I had thrown a tantrum and why I had made such a big issue out of nothing. I told him that he and the rest of the staff were being stereotypical. Just because I am 16 and just because I am a young woman, does not mean that my mind is clouded with boys and fairy tales. And it certainly does not mean that I am not mature enough to assess a situation and handle which direction I want my life to go. I explained that I made the decision to come to Job Corps on my own. I did all the research and signed up online myself. No one helped me. I then told him, "I came here because I needed YOUR help. I know what I want in life, but I cannot reach that goal on my own.This is my last chance to make something of myself, I will NOT let you take that away from me." He did not seem pleased that I had made such a statement with such confidence. He probably would have called it defiance. I could tell he was afraid of mutiny...------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

This whole event took place 11 days ago. The center director promised that he would try and work with me and come to a compromise. Nothing has been done. I figure that he has forgotten, decided that would be so angry and frustrated that would just give up and go home, or figured that I will be too distracted by boys and school and drama that I will simply forget about the whole thing. Well he couldn't be more wrong. I may not have gone to school very long but I have had some of the best teachers in the world, my mother, my father, and my grandparents. If I was to let this go I would not be honoring all that they have taught me in the past few years. I have learned to speak up when everyone else is silent, to be brave when everyone else is afraid, to have courage when it seems things have taken a turn for the worse, and to be colorful when the rest of the world is grey. I understand now that I was put here for a reason, and it was to lead and make a path for others. If I don't stand up for myself and other young adults like me, who will?------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Within the next 47 days they will try to place me into a trade that I am eligible for. Key word: TRY. They underestimate me. I refuse to be lead with the others like a flock of sheep. As my grandfather always says, I've always danced to the tune of a fiddler a little different than everyone else. And believe me, they're going to have a hell of a time getting me to dance with everyone else. I know my rights, they will be honored, and I WILL be heard.