“I couldn’t be prouder to be a double graduate of Job Corps. I still use my Certified Nursing Assistant license to this day 15 years later.”

After graduating from high school in Atlanta, Briana Gosier knew she wanted to do more than just babysit for the rest of her life. She just wasn’t sure where to go or how to get there. After her older brother and cousin experienced success at Job Corps, she decided to enroll in the Montgomery Job Corps Center in Alabama, two hours from her native Atlanta.

“Going two hours away from home was a big change for me,” Briana said, “but that was what I needed as my first step to grow up and become the person I am today.”

Growing up in a military family, Briana craved structure, and Job Corps gave her just that.

“Without structure, I feel like I am walking in a dark room. Everything at Job Corps from the meals to the meetings, to the breaks gave me the structure I needed.” 

Briana found right where she belonged on her Job Corps campuses. She was the vice president and then president of the Student Government Association, as well as a “wing leader” in her dormitory. Her dorm at Montgomery Job Corps will always hold a special place in her heart because that is where she met her best friend.

“My best friend’s daughter is named after me, and we have Job Corps to thank for our lifelong bond,” Briana said.

After completing her Certified Nurse Assistant (CNA) training at the Montgomery Job Corps Center, Briana went on to work in the field for several years. After deciding to pursue a different avenue in the medical industry, Briana enrolled in the Medical Office Support training area at the Earle C. Clements center in Kentucky. Encouraged by staff there, Briana continued to Ivy Tech Community College and then Southern Illinois University, where she graduated with her degree in health care administration. She then went on to graduate from Capella University with her master’s degree in public health. Though she admits she did not take the “standard route” to her education, she would not change a thing.

“The support I received at Job Corps was unmatched,” she said.

After completing her associate degree at Ivy Tech, her Career Transition Services counselor Joice Nichols from Earle C. Clements sat her down and helped her come up with a detailed plan and budget so that she would feel secure at Southern Illinois University.

“Joice became a great friend of mine. She was stern, but that was what made my college experience such a success. She is now retired and living in Arizona, and we are so close that I even went and visited her. I owe so much of my success to her,” Briana said.

Briana is the operations manager for a national home health services company and just completed her first semester studying to earn her doctorate.

“I tell everyone that I credit my success to Job Corps. This program is needed, and students with these certifications are needed. I will gladly and confidently hire a Job Corps graduate any day.”

Briana’s biggest piece of advice is to find a mentor, someone who will hold you accountable. The many Job Corps staff who pushed and supported her were her first mentors, and she even has one now as a professional.

“Don’t be pushed down by negativity, because there is negativity everywhere. Instead, find someone who will stand by you and support you even when things get hard. Once you push through those hard times, you could be like me and find an experience that you wouldn’t trade for the world,” Briana said.