By ROBIN SHANNON

L’Observateur

CONVENT – A local branch of a nationwide program that offers at-risk youth a chance to build a brighter future is showing signs of increased success.

In its second active year in St. James Parish, more than 25 students enrolled in the Youth Build Program. The program helps low-income students aged 16-24 earn a GED while preparing them for future careers.

“They get first aid and CPR training and also get cetification through OSHA and the National Center for Construction Education and Research,” said St. James spokeswoman Melissa Wilkins. “It gives these students a second chance to show leadership skills that will help them in the future.”

With the help of five staff members, students complete 20 hours of general study in English, math and science per week and 16 hours of construction building and safety skills, Wilkins said.

The program, which lasts nine months serves as an alternative to public school for students who may have faced challenges in the past.

“The program works like a full-time job,” Wilkins said. “Students are there Monday through Friday starting at 8 a.m. and going until 4 p.m. School classes in the morning and career training in the afternoon.”

Students involved in Youth Build say the program has a deeper meaning in that it gives them an opportunity to repair a life mistake made in the past.

They have a second chance to accomplish goals and career aspirations.

“It has given us a second chance when other people didn’t want to,” said student Brandon Ester of Convent. “It tells us what possibilities we have in life and gives us another chance to get a GED. Maybe after I can go to college and be what I want to be.”

Lance Davis of Paulina said the program gets him excited because it gives him something constructive to do with his time.

“I enjoy it,” Davis said. “I was almost absent two times as a matter of fact because I almost missed the bus, but I ran after the bus. If I was still going to public school, I would have turned around and gone home.”

Wilkins said students in the program have helped build homes for low-income families and have participated in construction jobs throughout the parish. The supervisors encourage participants to stay motivated and positive while focusing on the final outcome.

“The participants in the program know that their failure is only temporary, while their success will be permanent,” says Iris Bause, project manager for the Youth Build Program.

Facilitators said the CPR, OSHA and NCCER training makes the students eligible to work in any type of industrial, construction plant or site.

“We had a high success rate with the last cycle,” said Youth Build Site Manager Deborah Schexnayder. “Before graduation, at least half of the students already had a job lined up.”

Wilkins said the program was officially brought to St. James Parish in 2008, but the first cycle of students didn’t begin until 2009. The program, which is operated through the parish Human Resources Department, receives $800,000 in federal funding through the Employment and Training Administration over a 3-year period.