In the News

SEDRO-WOOLLEY — Ashley Bennett had never been to Sedro-Woolley until four months ago when she arrived in search of a better future.

“I wanted to get my life together,” said the 17-year-old from Spokane.

Now, Bennett is among the first students in the Cascades Job Corps College and Career Academy and is on track to achieve her lifelong dream of helping the elderly.

On a sunny afternoon Monday, Bennett and four classmates were busy with their studies in the program’s new health care track — one of two new career pathways being offered at the Job Corps center as part of a pilot program to help disenfranchised youths gain jobs in the high-demand fields of health care and information technology.

The re-vamped Job Corps center opened its doors to students — with a new focus, new decor and new partnerships — earlier this summer.

About 50 students, mostly from throughout the state, are enrolled in the program. The program aims to eventually accept about 300 students, most of whom will be between the ages of 16 and 21.