Adult school offers man a brand new start
From the time he was a child, Jerry was in and out of prison. But, when he met the woman who would become his wife and she stuck with him while he served time in jail, he took a hard look at himself and decided to change and give himself a brand new start.
Upon his release, Jerry had a renewed sense of purpose and took advantage of programs to find a legitimate job. He became a certified crane operator, but had trouble finding a job — no one wanted to hire an ex-con.
To make matters worse, Jerry found out he needed a different license to drive the crane and that he didn’t have money to pay for a truck driving class. He heard about the transportation program at Twin Rivers Adult School and contacted the program instructor, Ward Allen. Allen told Jerry about the program and how he could apply for a Pell grant to pay for a trucking class.
“It’s just like a brand new start in life. I can’t say strong enough that if you are serious about doing things right and turning your life around, [then] there are people out there that really care about helping others.”
Jerry
“Mr. Allen has gone out of his way and bent over backward to help me succeed in turning my life around,” Jerry says. “I have the highest respect for him and the other people who were involved in getting my life on the right track.”
The real highlight of the program for Jerry was when he drove a big rig on the road for the first time. He was in awe — not only at operating a huge piece of machinery on the freedom of the open road, but also at how much he accomplished.
Jerry says he enjoyed going back to school as an adult because he was able to learn things that he was interested in and he wanted to be in school. After Jerry finished the course, he came in everyday to help other students learn and to motivate them to succeed like he did. To Jerry, one of the most valuable things he learned in the transportation program is to be professional and take pride in his work.
Today, Jerry says his life is better than it has ever been. He is working as an apprentice crane operator for a well-known company building bridges, relishing earning his money legally and being able to come home to his wife every night. Twin Rivers transportation program, he notes, gave him the tools he needed — education and confidence — to support himself without doing crime. “It’s just like a brand new start in life,” he says. “I can’t say strong enough that if you are serious about doing things right and turning your life around, [then] there are people out there that really care about helping others, like Mr. Ward Allen.”
Jerry encourages anyone interested in learning new skills to look into programs at Twin Rivers. In fact, he is even trying to get his nephew to enroll in the transportation program. Above all, Jerry is thankful for a brand new start and credits Allen and his compassion for his students for his success. “I’m so truly thankful to [Allen] and to Twin Rivers School in all that [they have] done for my life and my future,” Jerry says. “I couldn’t have succeeded without [Allen] and the others out there who are truly trying to make a difference.”
For more information, go to www.capitaladulted.org.
Written by Kendall Fields
| Regions | Classes |
|---|---|
| Northern California | Careers in Manufacturing-Construction |
