Albuquerque Job Corps

"Does anyone know if the welding instructor Mr. Bilial and the counselor is still there? And that POS accountant ? Can't remember his name, thick Boston accent. I was there 2004-07. I was able to stay longer because after my trade we immediately went to Central New Mexico college."

"Counselor s not understanding what circumstances led to a denial of services. They do not understand people with disabilities."

"I have a 17 year old daughter. That's going to jump core and I'll have a picnic. I empower her to encourage and to learn more. And to be a good child and life to challenge her world out there"

"I'm a proud graduate of Albuquerque Job Corps. (AJCC) Yes, it's tough because the school is teaching you how to make decisions, how to be responsible, and empower yourself- skills you need for life. As a student you must actively participate in the program. You have to get up early, clean, cook, attend class, budget between paychecks, save for the future, and take part in student government. No one will hold your hand, or do the work for you. At Job Corps you must learn to deal with all kinds of people from all kinds of places. Sometimes students & staff can be cruel, or obtuse & uncooperative; you have to learn how to manage yourself in those situations, and create solutions with them, or despite them. There are amazing staff & students at Job Corps too- you work together to create community and make impactful friendships. There are great lessons in taking care of yourself- including how to recognize when you need help and the type of people you can count on. Similarly to life after graduation, there are systems you learn to work within; as you learn to navigate their process, you also learn how to make those systems work for you. AJCC had some big events when I was there- someone(s) in an adjacent community opened fire on our campus one night. There were no injuries, just an hours long lock-down, lots of questions from police the next day, and fear that subsided with time. Our campus also had some serious concerns about staff leadership and accountability. We (students) staged a walk-off, knowing we had strength together. We got attention by notifying the local media, and the NAACP helped us to negotiate changes in the weeks following. These were bad situations but we leaned on quietly supportive staff and learned to be the change we wanted to see- in ourselves, our school, our community. Job Corps was hard every day but here I am 33 years later- I think back gratefully to my RA, Ms Smitty, counselor/advisor, Mrs Quast, and trade teacher, Mr Griego, for their honesty, care, and grit. My teachers, my peers, and the Job Corps Program gave me lessons and opportunity unavailable (to me) anywhere else. I learned to believe in myself, work hard, and pursue the life I want. Not easy, but very worthwhile."

"This school is an utter joke and lacks the capability to make you feel secure with your child attending their school. They have very little amount of students on campus to supervise so you’d think your child would be well taken care of and protected, however if your child also attends Job Corp and leaves off campus to go to Gordon Bernell for their academics, it’s like leaving to go to a carnival where children can run free and do whatever they want with little to no supervision nor communication with parents, Job Corps staff etc. All of this lead to my daughter who’s a minor having the ability to sneak off to restrooms and have inappropriate contact with a male behind locked doors. ON NUMEROUS OCCASIONS! Not to mention that I wasn’t notified and still haven’t been by Gordon Bernell over the incident, I learned through Job Corps instead. When I asked to have a meeting with the appropriate staff at Job Corps and a staff member from Gordon Bernell they acted like they’d definitely make that happen just to have driven 3 hrs up and have no one show up to the meeting other than a nurse from wellness, a Social worker that seemed as if she knew all this was occurring and did nothing and a security guard because I guess they felt threaten having a furious mother show up demanding answers. I left with no progress, no confidence in their ability to care for my daughter. Just a bunch a worthless apologies. Take the time and do your research before you make the important decisions to send your child to either programs . It’s brought nothing but stress and disappointment and destruction into our families life. People need to do a better job caring for our youth, especially in todays world."