Oconaluftee Job Corps forestry student eyes a new career path
NORTH CAROLINA – When the Job Corps program was forced to shut its doors due to the coronavirus pandemic in March 2020, Thomas Poole was amongst the thousands of prospective students set to arrive on Job Corps campus across the country. Poole, however, did not relinquish his dream of attending Oconaluftee Job Corps Civilian Conservation Center to study forestry. Rather, he used the over year long delay to bolster his credentials, increase his savings and improve his physical fitness.
Poole’s patience and careful preparation reflects his resilience and the focus and determination of a natural leader. After a year of quarantines and lockdowns, Poole was in the first cohort to complete Oconaluftee’s Virtual Enrollment Career Preparation Period. At age nineteen, he traveled to Oconaluftee and entered a mandatory 14-day quarantine. He continued to complete his class work online and daily exercise kept his spirits up as he waited to begin his forestry training with an eye towards a career in the Forest Service.
“I enrolled at Oconaluftee with the intention of being a forester,” says Poole. “I believe that my Job Corps training will allow me a leg-up in my career. I won’t have to struggle so much.” However, closing in on his first year on-center, Poole’s long-term career interest has shifted from forestry to wildland firefighting. Once he gains his forestry certification, he intends to enter Collbran Job Corps Civilian Conservation Center’s Advanced Wildland Fire Management Program.
Poole’s life has settled into a familiar rhythm. The objective of the forestry program is to train students in forest management and wildland firefighting and is accomplished through projects completed on the national forests. Projects range from silviculture, wildland fire, forest recreation, wildlife and fisheries and timber cruising and marking.
Along with classroom and training, his days in the forestry program are spent studying trees throughout the Great Smoky Mountain National Park and learning how to identify them by their leaf shape and type of bark. He also has learned to identify plants that trigger allergies and works to help manage invasive plant species. Outside of the classroom, Poole is free to pursue his love of nature, eagerly exploring the surrounding mountains.
“My typical training day involves tree identification and conducting trail maintenance with Pulaskis and chain saws,” says Poole. “I’m a SAWYER class A now and my goal is to earn Class C status so I can become an instructor.”
Poole’s progress has impressed his Forestry Instructor Dr. Aaron Joslin. “Thomas is engaged and enthusiastic about any and all trade activities, particularly if power tools are involved,” he says. “Thomas has been laser focused on gaining his eligibility to be a wildland firefighter. He has worked independently on earning all of the certificates necessary to be Firefighter Type 2.”
Many young people enroll in Job Corps Civilian Conservation Centers lacking knowledge of the Forest Service. But before he set foot on center, Poole knew he wanted a career protecting the nation’s natural resources. It is commonly said that “good thing come to those who wait.” This has certainly been true for Poole. Although tested, his perseverance has placed him on a path to attain the career and life he desires.