Adalberto Diaz is working toward a rewarding welding career, with support from the Success Corps Scholars program at Lorain County Community College.

Success Corps helps eligible youth get trained for a job that leads to a meaningful career in in-demand fields. Students benefit from free tuition and laptops, transportation assistance, one-on-one coaching and support, and much more. To qualify for Success Corps, students must be between 16-24 years old and not currently enrolled at LCCC.

Diaz, 18, heard about the Success Corps program while he was a senior at Lorain High School in 2022.

“I graduated early, so I decided to take the program and get some college credit while I had time,” Diaz said.

Before he heard about LCCC’s Success Corps, Diaz didn’t think he was interested in attending college. Through the connections he made with the Success Corps team, his feelings about higher education started to change.

“They made that stigma go away for me,” said Diaz.

With his newfound excitement for welding and learning, Diaz earned a certificate of completion in welding technology from LCCC in May 2022. He’s continued his education at LCCC and is working toward an associate degree in the field.

Diaz encourages others who aren’t sure about college to give the Success Corps program a try.

“Success Corps was amazing for me,” he said. “They manage everything so well.”

This article was originally posted here.