"the People's Paths!" Cherokee News Path - Talking Leaves Job Corps Students Spend Day in D.C.

Tahlequah, OK - Recently, students of the Cherokee Nation Talking Leaves Job Corps were given the opportunity to work alongside some Oklahoma Congressmen on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., in celebration of Job Corps’ 45th anniversary.

Four students from TLJC were part of a group of 60 Job Corps students nationwide that were selected for to participate in the Job Corps Day: 45 Years of Building Lives and Launching Careers event, which took place on Wednesday, Sept. 23.

Students from Cherokee Nation TLJC included Morgan Farris, 20, of Alma, Ark. Farris interned for Senator Jim Inhofe. Carlos Cardoza, 21, of Oklahoma City, and Sandra Castillo, 18, of Ft. Destiny, Ariz., interned for Congressman Dan Boren. Also, Kris Johnson, 17 of Tahlequah, interned for Paula Ragsdale at the Cherokee Nation’s Washington, D.C. office.

Students spent their day being exposed to the inner-workings of the legislative branch of government, the role an elected official plays in the decision-making process, and the importance of Congress to Job Corps. They learned invaluable information about constituent services, legislative policy, office management, communications, floor procedures and voting.

Cherokee Nation Talking Leaves Job Corps is an Indian preference vocational training facility for Native American youth and others from all parts of the United States. The Tahlequah-based facility is part of the U.S. Department of Labor’s national Job Corps program and one of only four Job Corps facilities located in Oklahoma. In operation through the Cherokee Nation since 1978, the Talking Leaves facility serves approximately 400 students each year. Cherokee Nation TLJC offers students the opportunity to earn a certificate in one of the following fields: Business Office Technology, Health Occupations, Electrical Wiring, Culinary Arts, Facilities Maintenance, and Materials Handling. Students may also earn their GED while enrolled if they enter the program without a high school diploma. The national Job Corps program has been training young adults for meaningful careers since 1964.