Helping build lasting partnerships

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Thomas Dow
  • Minot Air Force Base Public Affairs
MINOT AIR FORCE BASE, N.D. --  Students from the Quentin N. Burdick Job Corps Center utilized their training and skills by renovating Minot Air Force Base dormitory kitchens here March 14.

The renovation is part of an ongoing project that began in early February. The project not only gives the students real-world work experience, but it also gives them an opportunity to work alongside Air Force members.

"The project allows the students to interact with young Airmen who set a positive example for them," said Dave Ellingson, Job Corps Center director.

Ellingson said the students enjoy the partnership as they see the pride the Airmen take in their career. He said the students' curiosity about the Air Force and the military in general has grown.

"We have more students looking at the service as a viable career," Ellingson added.

The chance to work with Air Force members and learn practical skills was not the only draw for these students. Travis Hudson, a Job Corps student and shop manager of facility maintenance, said he viewed it as an opportunity to help out the Air Force.

"It feels great helping out," Hudson said.

"I have family and friends in the military," Hudson added, "and it feels great knowing I am helping out the base."

Lanny Bailey, a Job Corps student and carpentry shop foreman, said he actually lived on the base as a military dependant and was eager to volunteer for the job.

"After all the years I lived here, it gives me a chance to give back to the base," Bailey said. 

While the kitchen renovation job by itself is important to both Job Corps students and the base, the fellowship between the two entities is helping create a bond with the community as well.

"The best part of the relationship is the establishment of a mutually beneficial partnership," Dave Ellingson said, "and it demonstrates that Minot Air Force Base is a significant part of the community."

Ellingson also said the partnership is creating more and more opportunities for the Job Corps students.

"I wonder what we will be doing with each other a year from now as it seems to get bigger and better by the week," Ellingson added.

With the renovation project slotted for completion around the end of April, there is much work ahead of the students. While it may be hard work, those involved in the project are more than willing to lend a hand. For they know they are not just building a kitchen, they are building a foundation for a lasting partnership.