Job Corps program turns 50 this year
Photo by Tom Rivers
ALBION – The Orleans County Legislature presented a “Special Recognition Award” to the Iroquois Job Corps Center on Wednesday. The Job Corps program is in its 50th year nationally. The Iroquois center opened in 1966.
County Legislature Lynne Johnson, second from right, presents the certificate to Melinda Maedl, business and community liaison for the center, which ranks among the top centers of the 122 in the country.
Job Corps students Ibrahim Abdul-Aleem and Keyana Mitchell both addressed the County Legislature on Wednesday, giving testimonials about the program which has taught them job skills and built their confidence to enter the workforce.
Job Corps is a residential program providing vocational and other life skills to at-risk youth.
Abdul-Aleem comes from New York City. He said he looks forward to a career in the building trades.
“The things you get from Job Corps are hard to get in my neighborhood,” he told legislators. “People say in Job Corps we are bad teen-agers or people who don’t have discipline. It’s not like that. It’s people who want to get their lives better.”
