<p>The Student Government Association (SGA) is the voice of our students and plays a key role in the operation of the center. We encourage all of our students to join the SGA.</p> <p>The SGA Council is composed of Executive Board officers, Vocational Representatives, and Area Student Leaders. The Executive Board members are the President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer, and Community Coordinator. Vocational Representatives are student leaders representing each career training program on center. The Area Student Leaders are mentors, recreational aides, residential advisors, safety marshals, and student tour guides.</p> <p>In their weekly meetings, SGA representatives make recommendations to the Center Director about rules affecting students including enforcement of rules. The Center Director also consults with the SGA before introducing new rules for students.</p> <p>SGA members also have the responsibility to:</p> <ul> <li>Be a positive role model to the other students.</li> <li>Assist in the decision-making process with the Center Director and Senior Management Team relating to policies affecting student life on and off campus.</li> <li>Develop leadership skills.</li> <li>Practice self-government and have input on center policies.</li> <li>Learn and practice positive leadership and socialization skills.</li> <li>Assist with tours on center.</li> <li>Work with all departments through the SGA Committees.</li> <li>Host activities for the student body.</li> <li>Work closely with the Business-Community Liaison to bridge the gap between the Job Corps program and the community.</li> </ul> <p>After 30 days of enrollment at our center, you may apply for the Leadership Training Class. After you complete three weeks of leadership training, you can apply for SGA membership.<br> </p>

<p>The Choir Club promotes teamwork, a sense of community, and has a lot of fun with music at the heart of everything we do. Its goal is to enhance the musical, creative, and expressive qualities of all members so that they can find the music inside them and use their own unique voice to share it with the world. Along the way, we will be learning the basics of musical theory as it relates to choral music and applying them firsthand in rehearsals and performances both in-center and out in the community. </p>

<p>The Dance Club is a celebration of the joy and expression found in all forms of dance, though the club does focus primarily on hip-hop and step dance. </p> <p>Hip-hop dance is a dance style that is performed primarily to hip-hop music that evolved as part of hip-hop culture. It includes a wide range of styles including breaking, locking, and popping which were created in the 1970s and made popular by dance crews in the United States. Hip-hop dance is often "freestyle" (improvisational) in nature, and this allows for an infinite variety of personal expression and competition between crews. </p> <p>Stepping is a form of percussive dance that draws upon elements of gymnastics, break dance, tap dance, march, and African and Caribbean dance. The dancer’s entire body is used to produce complex rhythms and sounds through a mixture of footsteps, spoken word, and hand claps. The style’s history goes back to military close-order and exhibition drills as well as African foot dances and was popularized by African-American fraternities and sororities during the 20th century. </p> <p>The goal of Dance Club is not only to learn these dance styles, but to connect with like-minded students, have fun, and forge new friendships at the Center. </p>

<p>In the past, we have worked under the idea that exercise happens in recreation, nutrition happens in the cafeteria, and health education happens in wellness. It’s time to change that way of thinking. Health happens everywhere—in dorms, in the classroom, even on field trips.</p> <p>The HEALS Committee is made up of students who are dedicated to promoting this idea and to building a culture at the center that embraces wellness, healthy eating, and physical activity in everything we do. This means teaching fellow students new and easy ways to integrate healthy living throughout the day and making healthy eating and exercise a fun part of center culture.</p>

<p>The Leadership Training Program is modeled after city government and provides a basic overview of government, committees, meetings, and town hall gatherings. Its goal is to help students develop their leadership skills through team building, social and business interaction, problem-solving, career development and the development of diplomatic views. To qualify for this training program, students must show they are mature and have leadership potential. The program itself takes place after school hours but is open to all our students.</p> <p>This program incorporates the Student Government Association (SGA) which acts as the voice of our students.</p>

<p>Fostering positive relationships with the communities our centers are in is a key part of what Job Corps does. This can mean performing work in the neighborhood that aligns with a student's career pathway, such as building new playgrounds, patching up sidewalks, or cleaning up parks. At the Gerald R. Ford Job Corps Center, it also means assisting the following organizations with their important work:</p> <ul> <li>Blandford Nature Center</li> <li>Community events</li> <li>Comprenew</li> <li>Grand Rapids Home for Veterans</li> <li>Heart of West Michigan United Way</li> <li>Local neighborhood associations</li> <li>Mel Trotter Ministries</li> </ul>