With an eight-month-old son to care for, twenty-year-old Senita Davidson was tired of working at McDonalds and barely making ends meet. After viewing a Job Corps commercial, Ms. Davidson decided Job Corps was the opportunity she needed toget her high school diploma and training, so she could move forward in a career and making a comfortable life for her child.

Ms. Davidson was motivated and learned quickly, obtaining her high school diploma and Nursing Assistant certification. She was a member of the Cheerleading team and received the Student of the Month Award. After completing the Nursing Assistant trade, she enrolled in Cleveland Job Corps’ Advanced Career Training (ACT) program at Cuyahoga Community College to begin working on her Criminal Justice degree.

After graduating from Cleveland Job Corps in December 2012, Ms. Davidson moved back in with her parents in Maryland for a short time to prepare to enter the Criminal Justice Program at the University of Toledo. She moved back to Toledo with her son and started working as a State Tested Nursing Assistant (STNA) full-time to support herself through college. During her Sophomore year, she completed an internship at the Juvenile Detention Center in Toledo. She worked closely with juvenile delinquents performing assessments, screenings, drug testing as well as sat in on a variety of court hearings.

Ms. Davidson received her Bachelors’ of Science Degree in Criminal Justice from the University of Toledo with a 3.0 GPA on May 7, 2017, and recently gained employment at a community re-entry program as a Shift Supervisor, helping recently released inmates transition back into the community. She will be taking a semester off to study for the Law School Admissions Test (LSAT) and has plans to apply for the Law School Program at the University of Toledo. She aspires to become a Divorce Lawyer.

She would recommend Job Corps as a program to anyone interested in getting back on track. She said the Cleveland Job Corps program was instrumental in helping her get on her feet. Her fondest memories at Cleveland Job Corps are of Academic Department Manager, Cindy Steinel, who was her High School Diploma Instructor at that time. She remembers “Ms. Steinel was helpful, caring and respectful. I really enjoyed her class,” said Ms. Davidson.