Job Corps and CSC share decades of mutual benefit

A lot of the projects started with Job Corps instructor Sime Simones in the 1970s, according to current center director Clyde Franklin.

“These projects are a win-win situation. Our kids get a chance to participate in events they wouldn’t otherwise and the college gets the benefit of completing projects,” Franklin said. “Any time our students can get exposure working with adults other than staff, it helps them grow and develop as employees.”

Todd Baumann, CSC maintenance supervisor, said work completed by Job Corps crews on the women’s softball field included construction of the announcer’s booth, concession stand, pouring concrete bases for seating and building the dugouts.

Recently, Job Corps poured concrete for the Eagle Ridge housing complex walls and helped set up furniture in the three buildings under a tight time schedule so CSC students could move in when classes began in August 2014. In years past, Job Corps also completed concrete work on the ticket booth at Elliott field.

In addition to construction, each May, Job Corps students arrange rooms in the High Rise complex for summer camps into a doubles configuration.Throughout the summer they assist with campus construction and several weeks before CSC classes start in August, they rearrange beds, chairs and desks in residence hall rooms to correspond with new housing contracts.

Baumann said the Job Corps crews are a valuable resource to CSC.

“We have 16 working days to set up more than 630 rooms. About six to eight Job Corps kids help each year. The only way big, time-sensitive projects like this are possible is with their help, because the regular staff is busy cleaning,” Baumann said.

The Job Corps youth are paid minimum wage and occasionally treated to lunch, Baumann said.

“When there’s a break, like in the summer when it’s hot, they can go play games in the Student Center Pit for a few minutes. They enjoy getting out and doing something different,” Baumann said.

In August, the Job Corps students are invited to attend the all-campus picnic as another token of appreciation.

The list of cultural and academic activities Job Corps students have attended on campus over the years is long and varied.

It includes the Scholastic Contest, Health Professions Showcase and the annual Martin Luther King Day Jr. March. Some groups have danced in authentic costumes from their home countries during the annual International Club Food Tasting Party.

Theatrical productions provide yet another opportunity for Job Corps students to visit CSC.

For the past year, CSC theatre faculty members Scott Cavin and Roger Mays have invited Job Corps students to attend Wednesday dress rehearsals of theatre productions.

“It's great for our students to have an audience at dress rehearsal and it’s an opportunity for the Job Corps students to see our productions,” Cavin said.

Interestingly, Simones said CSC theatre students helped apply makeup to Job Corps participants in a haunted house at the Assumption Arena in the 1970s and 1980s.

Other recent Job Corps field trips to campus have included a tour of the animal mounts donated by Cabela’s in the Burkhiser building and attendance at speakers like bull riding champion Charlie Sampson, MK Mueller and others.

In addition to Job Corps students being regular guests on campus, Dr. Randy Rhine and past presidents Dr. Janie Park and Dr. Tom Krepel have each been invited to speak during Job Corps graduation ceremonies.

Among the many ties that weave the two organizations together include CSC providing space and meals during two recent fire evacuations.

In 2006, Job Corps students stayed in the CSC residence halls since school was not in session. When Job Corps had to evacuate a second time in 2012, the group moved into the Nelson Physical Activity Center because school was in session.

In the 1980s, Simones estimates that Job Corps students stayed on campus about six times due to power outages at the center caused by severe winter storms. Corps members also stayed in Brooks Hall due to a dormitory shortage at the center and complete repairs and remodeling in Edna Hall while living there the same decade.

The long-term relationship between the entities has even been recognized at the national level.

In July 2001, the National Job Corps Association presented CSC with one of its highest honors, the Alpha Award in the category of community organization, during a ceremony in Washington, D.C.

Many full-time Job Corps employees are CSC alumni. In addition, a large number of Job Corps part-time employees and substitute teachers are CSC graduates. Some CSC graduates who worked at Job Corps right after graduation later moved on to positions at other Job Corps centers throughout the country.

—Tena L. Cook, Marketing Coordinator