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LIMESTONE— Officials at the Loring Job Corps Center in Limestone recently recognized Bab Cote with the 2016 Staff of the Year Award.
Cote is no stranger to the success of Loring and has been with the Job Corps Center from its beginning, starting as a residential advisor for the very first class of students to her current position of career counselor for all the new students during their initial career preparation phase.
“Anyone who knows Bab knows that she is a person who loves to be involved in changing the lives of our youth, something she can proudly say she has been part of and had a role in molding the over 10,000 graduates from the center over the past 20 years,” said Moir.
Cote said when she first started at the center, she knew that she had found the career path she needed to ensure she was grounded and appreciative of the life she has. She understands that so many young people need guidance and the chance for someone to believe in them, and she does both on a daily basis.
She works to motivate both students staff and can often be found helping others solve problems. “If you ask Bab where she learned the skills she demonstrates, she will tell you that she was blessed with amazing parents who taught her compassion and empathy from a very young age,” Moir said.
“She also credits gaining experience through being a mentor and role model to her own sons. Of course it does help a lot when you have a passion to help young people achieve their own goals.”
Cote uses her daily interactions with students as a way to challenge herself to continue to learn from the very students she works with every day. Their resilience is the fire and desire that keeps her going, and she is a proud supporter of the Job Corps program having seen firsthand the positive changes it makes in youth.
She plans to continue at Loring until she retires, but even then will probably still be involved in guiding youth in one way or another.
Cote said she was excited and humbled to have received the award, and she feels that there are many amazing staff at Loring. Being selected as staff of the year, she added, brought a lot of happy tears to her eyes, because these people are not just her team but her family.
The awardee received a standing ovation from the entire center at the time of the presentation.
“If you ask anyone on center, everyone will tell you no one is more deserving than Bab to be honored, especially on the 20th anniversary of Loring, who better to honor than someone who has been here from day 1,” said Moir. “It’s hard to put a number on the number of lives she has affected in a positive way either as a mentor or just someone who listens and cares about making life better for all.”
