Name: Samuel Perkins
Age: 21
Center: Cleveland Job Corps
Region: Chicago
Hometown: Cleveland, OH
Career Area: Building Construction Technology
Dates in Job Corps: August 2012 – May 2013
Samuel Perkins heard about Job Corps from friends that told him Job Corps was like High School but only better. When Mr. Perkins arrived at the Cleveland Job Corps Center, he quickly realized it was more than that. He en-rolled in the Building Construction Technology trade and quickly made friends. “Michael Yager, was a good teacher,” recalled Mr. Per-kins. “He taught me to stay determined, persevere through anything, and take things one step at a time.” When Mr. Perkins graduated from the Building Construction Technology trade, he was the youngest person to graduate from the trade.
Samuel’s father, who is an electrician, was proud to see him hired on as a maintenance technician by Goldberg Companies. Goldberg manages multiple properties throughout the Northeast Ohio area, as well as nationwide. As an
on-call Maintenance Technician, Sam was able to reside in the Grenada Apart-ments free of charge while he worked. He worked at Goldberg for two years, before deciding that he wanted to serve his country. At the age of nineteen, he enlisted in the navy in September of 2014. Private First Class (PFC) Perkins went to basic training in Great Lakes, Illinois and attended “A School” in Flor-ida. He is currently serving four years as an Aviation Boat Fuel Specialist. In “A School”, he was able to use the Cleveland Job Corps shop foreman experi-ence when he was selected as class leader for his recruitment class. Upon completing his service with the military, Private Perkins plans to enroll in col-lege to study psychology and management. He aspires to have a real estate management company.
Sam’s advice to current students is to get the qualifications for employers by taking advantage of everything the Job Corps program has to offer. He is a strong believer that the certifications offered at Cleveland Job Corps will help students in the long run, and that nobody can take education away from any-body. It will always stay as a tool to use at the right moment.