Name: Jackie Bray
Story: “Jackie Bray is a single mother from King’s Mountain, North Carolina. Last January she was laid off from her job as a high speed packaging mechanic. That is when she enrolled in Central Piedmont Community College to prepare for Siemens pre-hiring test. After finishing the course and passing the test, Ms. Bray was hired by Siemens in August of 2011. This type of partnership between businesses and community colleges is exactly what President Obama hopes to strengthen to maximize workforce development strategies, job training programs, and job placements. Ms. Bray now works as a process operator, combining her machinist background with new skills she has been trained on since working at Siemens: laser training, robotics training, penetrant inspection training, and product orientation.”
Inspirational American Hero Points: +4 for being a single mother, +4 for being laid off, +7 for learning new skills and finding a new job, +1 for doing crazy futuristic stuff with lasers and robots in her new job.
Total: 16 inspirational American hero points