As a teenager, Aaron Valencia didn’t think much about his future. He struggled with drug addiction, homelessness and family members in and out of prison. He wouldn’t have guessed that one day he would be running a free vocational training center for youth just like him.
In 2014, Valencia created the Lost Angels Career Center, formerly known as the Lost Angel’s Children Project, to provide at-risk youth with stability and set them on a clear career trajectory. The California center pays 18- to 24-year-old students to learn skills like welding, auto-mechanics and 3D design over 12 weeks.
“These are younger versions of ourselves,” Valencia said. “These are young people who need a support system, need somebody who believes in them and says, ‘I see what you’re going through, man, I got you. I got a path for you if you’re ready. Let’s go.'”
After the program, the center helps students get a career in the aerospace industry. Lost Angels boasts a 95% graduation rate and a 97% hiring rate, getting hundreds of young adults jobs at companies like NASA, Northrop Grumman and MS Aerospace.
“This program is for people that maybe cannot afford to go to [a trade] schools like this,” Destiny Prieto, Lost Angels Career Center instructor and alumnus, said. “Students leave with a sense of purpose that they didn’t necessarily have.”
Outside of hard skills, students also learn interview preparation, financial literacy and conflict resolution. Many said they also gained confidence.
“You’re not just coming here for work,” Prieto said. “You’re coming here to work on yourself.”
Learn more about the Lost Angels Career Center in the video above. Find out more about its training here.
