Former addict has life completely flipped with help of WTC program

The 31-year-old La Crosse native had been in and out of jail 19 times.

Staving off addiction and having a solid job would have been award enough for Jordan Holter.

The La Crosse native was in and out of jail 19 times and addicted to meth before getting his life back on track.

While in jail, a Western Technical College program helped him do that and, after being nominated by people Holter says helped save his life, the 31-year-old was given the Wisconsin Job Honor Award.

“I decided one day that I wanted to better my life,” he said. “I’ve seen my recovery take me further than I would have seen myself going.”

WTC’s Proven Project program helps rehabilitate criminals like Holter, who studied Electronics and Maintenance before landing a job as a Maintenance Technician Apprentice at Great Lakes Cheese. 

Getting to where he is now took a lot of change and discipline to break the cycle – something Holter knows is difficult to do, as he was addicted to meth beginning in 2006.

“You have no job,” he explained. “You don’t have a home. Sometimes you have a broken relationships. You’re in debt. And it just goes from there. A lot of people just give up because it’s too much.”

Beating addiction, getting an education, landing a job and earning this award – which comes with $500 – is something Holter is completely proud of.

“To me that was kind of cool because other people are seeing the hard work I’ve putting into recovery and to better my life, and that’s kind of what this award is saying,” Holter said.

Wisconsin Job Honor Awards 2016: Jordan Holter (La Crosse) from America’s Job Honor Awards on Vimeo.