Josiah’s Story: Truck Driving

Josiah, a WIOA Adult customer, was approved for CDL training, coincidentally on his birthday, in June 2020. When his Case Manager, Jesse Graham in our Bowie office, called to tell him he was approved, he was in tears. He said, “Nobody has ever given me a chance; they all judge me.” Josiah went to CDL training at C1 Trucking in Fort Worth on June 22, 2020. He had many barriers to employment including an extensive criminal background. He spent most of his adult life in and out of prison and had low self-esteem.

Josiah found employment at the company he really wanted, Freymiller, in August of 2020. After starting his new job, he said, “I’ve never felt like I could achieve this much, and I thank you so much for your help to get me here. I hope you realize how much of a difference you are making. Thank you so much.” Jesse consistently provided words of encouragement and constant support throughout his training to ensure his success.

After being on the job for about a month Josiah told Jesse, “Just going let you know I’m loving this job, and I don’t think I could have chosen much better of a company to start with. I know I’ve put in some work to get here, but I’ll always be grateful you had the faith to push me through the system so I can succeed. The opportunity was what I needed, and without you having faith I would move forward, I never would have.”