(L to R) Pharmacy Tech Students Eric Henning and Dva Sullivan talk about their studies to Tim Keene and Ken Peterson of RISE Alternative School.

For the past few years, the staff of the RISE Alternative High School in Chicago Heights, Ill., have referred some students to the Joliet Job Corps Center. But they never had seen it for themselves.

On Aug. 8, Principal Ken Peterson, Social Worker Tim Keene and Teachers Aide Derrick Childers took a two-hour tour of the Center hosted by BCL Stewart Warren and Zachary Mead-Prunty, one of the Center’s Student Ambassadors.

They had plenty of questions.

“What makes a student want to stay here?” Mr. Peterson asked. Zachary explained that the program was attractive for many reasons. “We try to reinforce the idea of where they came from and where they can go, if they complete the program,” Zachary said.

The group particularly was impressed with Pharmacy Tech Instructor Candy Gholston’s classroom and the poise of her students.When they visited Academic Instructor Tim Kelly’s classroom, the group ran into someone they knew: former student Paris Burton. Alt-hough RISE had not worked for him, he’d found success at the Center.

“I found out about Job Corps from my aunt,” Paris told them. “Now it’s eight months later, and I’m on my way to graduation.”