Finding a Direction, One Step at a Time

Jonathan Curtis describes entering Job Corps after experiencing homelessness at 19. His goal was practical: to become a wildland firefighter and learn the work that path required.

The step mattered because it gave his effort a direction. Rather than describing only what he had been through, Curtis can point to the occupation he set out to learn and the responsibilities that followed.

Job Corps offers more than an abstract promise of a new beginning. The Forest Service describes trained Job Corps firefighters contributing to suppression and fuels-management work, while other participants support fire camps (U.S. Forest Service). Curtis's stated goal was to enter the firefighting side of that world.

His LinkedIn profile lists seasonal Forest Service firefighting from February 2019 through August 2021 (LinkedIn experience). His own recollections add the human side of that entry, including physical preparation and work within a crew.

Later chapters bring different kinds of responsibility. Curtis describes housing work, sales-team leadership, and business ownership, each with a different setting and set of people.

His account of teaching inexperienced sales recruits gives the training theme a second appearance. Someone who describes learning a new occupation also describes helping others enter unfamiliar work.

Curtis says following Jesus Christ is a big part of his life. His faith sits alongside family and work in the way he describes the person he is today.

He also describes family life as central to who he is. Hiking, parks, and camping with his family are interests he wants included alongside his professional history.

The later housing chapter gave the story a different setting. Curtis says he moved into work that included managing properties and helping residents locate possible assistance.

That experience of teaching gives the story a second direction. Learning was something he sought for himself, then something he says he helped make possible for people starting a new line of work.

Its hopeful element is not a perfect ending. It is the possibility of describing a life through successive efforts to learn, work, and take on responsibility. Curtis says that, through his work at Bridge Meadows Redmond, he also helped families feel safe again.

Learn more about Jonathan Curtis for Deschutes County Clerk: jonathancurtis2026.netlify.app

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