Employment & Training Success Stories Submitted By: Employment & Training
The Employment & Training (E&T) department is pleased to highlight Donovan Frank and Damien R. LofftusGrant, two recent E&T graduates. Donovan graduated from Lewis and Clark State College (LCSC) with an Associates of Applied Science degree in Automotive Technology and Damien graduated from the Universal Technical Institute (UTI) with Nissan Automotive Certification in Diesel & Industrial Technology. Donovan Frank Donovan is the son of Raymond Guthrie and Geraldine Frank Guthrie. His grandparents are the late Floyd and Regina Frank. His family originates from the community of Hydaburg. Donovan’s clan is Double-Headed Eagle, sub crest is Frog, Beaver, and Blackfish. He is from the Copper House. Donovan graduated from Ballard High School in 1990. He lived with his mother in Washington until her passing; he was 21 years of age. Shortly after this loss, he came ‘home’ to live with his grandparents in Donovan Frank Ketchikan, Alaska. Donovan later relocated to Juneau, where he met his wife. Realizing he needed to build on his skills to secure employment and financial stability, he decided to go back to school. He applied for and received funding through E&T to attend the 2013 fall start at LCSC. Donovan’s attendance at school was excellent and his instructors said he worked hard to maintain a 3.0 GPA. The “hands on” part of the program provided new skills for working on automatic transmissions, brakes, air conditioning and heating, suspension and steering, and transaxle and electrical systems. This is where Donovan excelled the most. He enjoys taking things apart and putting them back together. “My goal is to someday work in or own a gym, and be employed working on cars,” said Donovan. “Both passions will provide me with steady income. I wouldn’t have made it this far in my education without the assistance from my Tlingit and Haida caseworker and the emotional support of my wife, Cecelia. Their encouragement helped me believe that I can accomplish anything. I will be going back to LCSC in the fall to pursue my Bachelors in Kinesiology. I have two career passions; love for fitness and automotive.” Damien R. Lofftus-Grant Damien is the son of Daniel and Carlene Nore and grandson to Edward and Marlene Grant (Kake). He graduated from Juneau-Douglas High School (2007) where he participated in the Early Scholars program. He is EagleWolf, born and raised in Juneau, Alaska. While attending UTI, Damien earned Student of the Course in seven courses, Director’s List in four courses, achieved Perfect Attendance, and was nominated for Alpha Beta Kappa Honor Society. He shared that the Damien R. Lofftus-Grant with parents Daniel & Carlene Nore hardest part about attending school was the diagnosis classes, in which he achieved Student of the Course. He’s very thankful for the vocational training assistance he received from Sealaska Heritage, Juneau Dip Sticks, and the E&T department. It ensured he could focus on school and obtain his career goals. His mother shared, “He always had a love for cars, even at a young age of two, you could tell he was hooked. He collected matchbox cars and after turning sixteen, he started collecting real cars. It’s so nice and rewarding to see someone follow their dreams and passion and to make it their career.” Damien plans on working for an aftermarket auto shop that provides auto repair and service. He’s gained skills in auto, diesel, and working in aftermarket installs as well as assisting in coordinating local car meets. Someday he hopes to open his own shop and cater to the performance and customizing aspects of the car culture.
Please join E&T in congratulating Donovan and Damien on their recent graduations! 7