3/27/08
The Graduates
REWARD program graduates second job-ready class
By Jerriod Grizzle

JERRIOD GRIZZLE/Manning Times

Ann Cutter with Clarendon Adult Education presents the second graduating class with certificates of completion March 20, at the Reward graduation Ceremony at the F.E. Dubose Career Center auditorium.

On March 20, the second class of graduates of the Rural Economic Workforce Alliance for Resource Development (REWARD) were recognized with a luncheon at the F.E. DuBose Career Center for their achievement in completing the REWRD course.

The REWARD program is a free eight-week course that helps workers and those seeking work skills to be ready to find employment. The program teaches the students interviewing skills, etiquette and computer applications necessary to be proficient on the job.

The program also features a program called “Work Keys,” a skills assessment that lets the students know where they are in learning comprehension and how much further they have to go to gain employment.

“Some students have hit a road block in not being able to get a job. Some come here to hone their skills. It is awesome that they took this opportunity,” said John Roveri director of the F.E. Dubose Career Center.

Berniece Wells, Tamara Isaac and Jeremy David are just some of the graduates of the program and they all agree that going through the program is a life changing experience.

“I’m unemployed, on public assistance and I took the program to better myself,” said Wells. “I stayed and I learned a lot of things that were new to me.”

Wells said she wanted to get a job in the medical records field while continuing her education.

Isaac, an 18-year-old recent graduate of Scott’s Branch High School said for her, the program is way to feel confident about her job skills.

“It meant a lot to me to come and learn and ultimately get the skills to get a job,” she said.

For David, the program meant one thing, a better opportunity for a job.

“I learned a lot including why I didn’t get hired in the past. I bettered myself and the people here taught me how to learn and how to achieve,” he said.

Graduates of the program attended a job fair before the graduation ceremony and received an impromptu uplifting message from the Operations Manager of IntraBond, Randy Donley.

“It says a lot for your character for you to do something more for yourselves. Anything you can do to better yourself like this program is important and you have done a lot more than others who want a job. You stand out and industry looks for someone different like you,” he said.

The keynote speaker for the event was County Administrator Bill Houser.

Houser said that all of Clarendon County was proud of their achievements and that he knew they would all move on to do bigger and better things.

“You took the time and the patience to complete a major step your life. This is a giant step for you and you have proven that you want to better yourself.

Houser referenced inventor Thomas Edison and astronaut Neil Armstrong as role models for the graduates.

“Edison failed over 1,000 times before he got it right. One of Clarendon’s top points is education. Armstrong said ‘One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind,’ and today is a giant step for you,” he said.

Houser said above all, the key to success is attitude.

“I am convinced that one thing we can play on is our attitude. I am convinced that life is ten percent what happens to me and 90 percent how I react to it. Act in a positive way and you will succeed in life,” he said.

Graduates received certificates of completion for the program and were filled with hope and praise as they walked out of the auditorium to fulfill a goal they set for themselves: to find a job.