A friend of my family made some poor decisions early in life and ended up spending a lot of time in prison.
Being in prison is not something that most people can fathom. If you do end up in prison, you could find yourself in the middle of some really bad stuff. Our friend witnessed six murders in prison. After the first murder, he was commited to figuring out how to turn his life around and get out of there as soon as possible. He was sentenced to 20 years in a prison in a southern state. One day, he found out he would be eligible to become HVAC certified while he was in prison. This was his chance to change his life for the better. He spent several months learning all about the HVAC industry. He knows of several friends on the outside that had been involved in HVAC work and hoped he would be able to get a job through a friend once he was released from prison. After 8 months of classroom and field work, he was HVAC certified. He had really been in the wrong place at the wrong time when he was convicted of his crimes. He was released after 15 years in prison. When he got back to the real world, he was able to get a job with a local HVAC company through a friend. He was very grateful for such an amazing opportunity, and took the job very seriously. After a few years on the job he was able to prove himself and landed a management position.