Graduate Arnold Cavanugh speaks about his experiences during the Lycoming County’s graduation held for probationers who successfully completed the GEO Lycoming County’s reentry program. KAREN VIBERT-KENNEDY/Sun-Gazette

Troy Werkheiser, by his own admission, has spent most of his life behind bars.

But he feels he’s been given new life through Lycoming County GEO Reentry Services.

“If I can do it, you can do it,” he said.

Werkheiser and 42 other people were honored as GEO graduates during a ceremony Friday.

Those with criminal pasts, including many with addiction problems, go through the program to help turn their lives around.

For so many, it’s a big second chance at life.

As Michael Boughton, GEO program manager put it: “All of them had their own specific journey.”

The next step for graduates, he said, is for them to lead productive lives.

Lycoming County Commissioner Scott Metzger told the graduates that success hinges on getting up after being knocked down.

“How do you get up? You change the way you think. You change the way you act,” he said.

Metzger said Abraham Lincoln failed repeatedly in life before realizing success and becoming the nation’s 16th President.

He said it’s important to not only have a goal, but to know what to achieve beyond that goal.

“Choose not to stay down, but to get up,” he said.

Alan Hatcher, who went through the reentry program more than two years ago, shared his story.

He said he was initially reluctant to embrace the program and how it could help him.

“I was always the stubborn type,” he said. “I was the black sheep of the family.”

However, he credited reentry with helping him turn his life around.

Now, he’s a certified trainer, business owner and a counselor to troubled kids.

GEO graduate Arnold Cavanaugh was initially skeptical of the reentry program which combines discipline with intensive treatment to prevent criminal behavior and encourage positive social attitudes.

“I am 68 years old, and I didn’t think this program had anything to do with me,” he said.

But after going through it, he changed his mind and now hopes he can be part of the solution rather than part of the problem.

Yet another reentry graduate, Phillip Edwards, shared how the program helped him.

Much of his life, he said, had been spent using drugs, stealing and dealing with anger.

Newly married and employed, he said, he still struggles but feels it’s time to give back to society.

John Stahl, deputy chief, county adult probation, said the success of the reentry program, now in its eighth year, has been possible through the support of stakeholders, including the probation office.

“Congratulations to all the participants for their accomplishments and hard work,” he said.