SOUTH DAKOTA – “You are stronger than you think you are.” Shyne Addison, a soon-to-be graduate of Boxelder Job Corps Civilian Conservation Center, believes these words deeply. She shares them with both friends and strangers struggling with life’s challenges. Readers who’ve followed her story have a sense of the hills and valleys she’s traversed but the odds she’s overcome makes where she now stands even sweeter.

A year ago, Addison wanted to become a Certified Nursing Assistant but in February, she will travel to Weber Basin Job Corps where she’s been accepted into the inaugural class of its advanced emergency dispatch training program. “I want a career that helps people,” she says. “It’s both exciting and scary to be going someplace new.” Pursuing a career as an emergency dispatcher would seem to be quite a career shift but maybe a natural progression that’s a reflection of her growth and experiences at Boxelder.

Addison has been active in Boxelder’s fire program. Last year she completed a 21-day assignment with the Boxelder Mobile Kitchen on the Cougar Rock Fire Complex last July before moving on to the Pioneer Creek Fire. Working 16-hour days, she’d wake up a 4:00 AM to clean, stock supplies and prepare meals. “I did not want those firefighters to starve,” she stated.  

Additionally, Addison excelled in numerous natural resource conservation projects during her years at Boxelder. She also has the distinction of being the first graduate of Boxelder Job Corps’ Natural Resources Career Pathway curriculum. When she graduates, Addison will depart with high school diploma certified by the South Dakota Department of Education that includes a Career and Technical Training Certification in an agriculture, food and natural resources cluster certified by the South Dakota Department of Education.

Always eager to offer a helping hand, Addison also helped construct shelf-stable food boxes for firefighters in spike camps and on the fire line during the 2021 fire season. Each box can support two firefighters for 72 hours. Addison saved approximately $3,000 of the $4,000 she earned. The money she’s saved will help ease her transition to independent living.

While at Boxelder, following the direction of her teachers, Addison consistently sought out opportunities for growth. Driven by a desire to overcome her shyness and refine her public speaking skills, Addison ran for and was elected to the position of Student Government Association president.  Her duties as SGA president are varied and she cheerfully completes the tasks at hand, whether manning the student coffee cart in the education building or purchasing and stocking supplies.

Boxelder Job Corps Civilian Conservation Center has provided Addison with the tools and confidence to overcome formidable obstacles, break away from a painful past and forge a path to a brighter future. She is an example of who Forest Service leaders had in mind when, in the 1960s, they designed Civilian Conservation Centers to provide youth the opportunity to transform their lives and fulfill their potential.