Each week, staff at Wind River Job Corps nominates a student who has shown excellent behavior towards their academics and peers. To view all nominated students, click here.
Medical Student motivated by his Long-Term Vision of the Future
While public schools on a traditional calendar have ended their school year, every day at Wind River Job Corps is a new one as students begin their training at a pace, and on a calendar, that works for them.
Building a bright future in the healthcare trade, this week’s Student-of-the-Week is Zechariah Dennis. Zechariah came to Riverton’s Wind River Job Corps center from Denver just 2 months ago.
“Although this student is somewhat new, he works very hard and if anyone needs something done he will over-perform, and do it twice as fast,” says center director Dr. Kristen Benson.
Zechariah’s ultimate goal is to become a doctor, in particular a Hospitalist, a job that currently earns $208k yearly. A hospitalist is a licensed physician who practices in a hospital setting treating a wide array of medical conditions. The doctor works with patients staying in the hospital due to a variety of illnesses and/or injuries. As a result, these practitioners experience plenty of diversity in their day-to-day work.
The need for these specialty practitioners emerged about 25 years ago, from the increasingly complex nature of hospital patient cases.
Zechariah’s career plan is to first complete training at Wind River Job Corps in the nursing program. This vocation works in partnership with CWC’s nursing program. Then, he says, “I will join the Armed Forces and hope to become an Active Duty Combat Medic where I will serve for at least a decade. After that I will have put in the time and have the financial means to complete college and receive the degrees required to reach my ultimate goal.”
Congratulations Zechariah Dennis on being selected as Wind River Job Corps’ Student of the Week.
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WIND RIVER JOB CORPS serves up to 300 campus-based and non-residential students generally originating from the Rocky Mountain states. The center provides over 16 career tracks offered through eight vocational programs, including pre-apprenticeship opportunities. These programs have been determined and developed based on the current high-performing job market trends in the region. Included in vocational training are employability skills and community engagement. Wind River Job Corps is the newest of the 124 Job Corps centers located throughout the United States, opening in 2015. It is operated by the Alternate Perspectives, Inc. for the Department of Labor and is located at 4200 Airport Rd in Riverton, Wyoming.
JOB CORPS is a program administered by the United States Department of Labor. The program helps income-eligible young people ages 16 through 24 complete their high school education, trains them for meaningful careers, and assists them with obtaining employment. Job Corps has trained and educated over two million individuals since 1964. It is the largest nationwide residential career training program in the country and has been operating for more than 50 years.
At Job Corps, students have access to room and board while they learn skills in specific training areas for up to three years. In addition to helping students complete their education, obtain career technical skills and gain employment, Job Corps also provides transitional support services, such as help finding employment, housing, child care, and transportation. Job Corps graduates either enter the workforce or an apprenticeship, go on to higher education, or join the military.
API Alternate Perspectives Incorporated (API) is a certified small, woman-owned company with corporate headquarters just outside our nation’s capital. API’s mission is to help individuals and organizations achieve their goals and realize their dreams by providing them with new ways of thinking to create new ways of doing. API staff have extensive Job Corps experience in almost every aspect of the Job Corps program. The API Operating model begins with building a “positive normative culture” at each center defined by four norms: respect self, respect others, respect community, and strive for excellence. Students and staff at the Wind River Job Corps Center are expected to adopt and embrace these norms to learn, grown, and strive for continuous improvement. In addition to Wind River Job Corps, API operates the Westover Job Corps Center, and Shriver Job Corps Center, both in Massachusetts.