08/04/2026
Meet Cameron, a San Jose Conservation Corps alum who worked in Zero Waste. 💛
Read his success story below to learn about his Corps journey and how it led to his current position as an in-site technician at Clean Harbors. 👇
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Cameron started his Corps Journey in August 2025, then proceeded to work with the Corps for about eight months. He shares, “when I started, I really just didn’t know what I was going to do with my life, because I had just dropped out of college.” As time went on, however, Cameron began to see a path forward. “I ended up being assigned to a lot of different areas in hazardous waste. It made me interested in it, so I applied to Clean Harbors because they’re the leading company in the nation for handling hazardous waste.” Cameron adds, “I just needed a purpose or something to work towards, and the Corps definitely helped me with that.”
Structure was a highlight from Cameron’s experience at the Corps. He shares that the consistency “gave [him] a lot of discipline and work ethic,” which he has been able to apply to his new job. “I have become so much more disciplined since I started working at the Corps, and I really feel like without that experience, I would not be as good a worker as I am.” Another highlight for Cameron was the sense of community while working in Zero Waste, which he feels grateful to have been a part of.
Cameron also cites the HAZWOPER training he completed as being particularly beneficial. He states, “it really got my foot in the door for my Clean Harbors job.”
Today, Cameron works as an in-site technician at Clean Harbors, managing hazardous waste at hospitals. He feels that the experience and knowledge he acquired during his time at the Corps helped provide the foundation for his new job. “I feel like if I had jumped into this job without my experience at the Corps, I would have had a lot more trouble with it.”
Cameron reflects on his time at the Corps with fondness and appreciation. “I just really love what the Corps does and I really loved being in Zero Waste. I think that the impact it has on the environment is such a great thing to be a part of.”
Cameron recommends that incoming corpsmembers take advantage of the trainings. He shares that if he hadn’t done the HAZWOPER training, he wouldn’t have been able to secure his position at Clean Harbors. “I never would have been in the position that I am in now, and that’s purely because the Corps gave me the opportunity to do the training, and I took the opportunity.”
