Job Corps turns 60
Job Corps and MTC
In this video, MTC CEO Scott Marquardt recounts his dad’s passion for Job Corps and how MTC became involved with the program more than 40 years ago.
“It’s amazing – Job Corps is celebrating its 60th year this year. And this year I’ve been with MTC and Job Corps for 41 years, so that’s a big portion of the 60 years that I’ve been working in Job Corps.
“My dad was involved in the very beginning. Job Corps was established in 1964, and I was around in 1964 as a little kid. I don’t have a great deal of memories that far back, but I do remember that the first contract that Thiokol had to operate Job Corps (it was Thiokol in those days, [not MTC]) was the Clearfield Job Corps Centre. As a little kid, I had different levels of involvement in Job Corps from going to play basketball in the gym or going [with my dad] to see what this was all about. But that was a really exciting time for my dad. And as I’ve grown older, I’ve seen the excitement and the power of what education can do.
One of the finest experiences for my dad was going to graduations. He would generally tear up and get emotional when he saw the graduates coming through with a diploma at the Job Corps centre.
“And it really is special for all of us. I think that’s one of the highlights of Job Corps is to go to a graduation ceremony and see the pride that parents have and the thrill of accomplishment that the students have. It really is an amazing program.
“One of the most exciting parts about Job Corps is to see the impact on a student that comes [into the program]. Students can be in Job Corps and maybe they’re afraid, or they’re homesick, or they’re not sure what they are going to do, or their parents may have made them do it. For whatever reason they got there, they’re kind of not sure [what to think] when they get to the program.
And then to see them months or a year or so later, and in some cases many years later, the change it’s had in their life and the confidence they have and the excitement of learning and accomplishment, it’s just such a powerful [impact] that we’ve had on so many people. It’s so gratifying to be involved in it.”
