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APP Grad Louis Breaks the Cycle

Two weeks ago, Louis Ortiz told fellow Apprenticeship Preparation Program graduates, “I was told that I would never be anything. That I would amount to nothing.” Today, he is a member of the Local 409 Carpenter’s Union.

Louis spent 27 of his 57 years in federal prison. He said, “Even when I wasn’t in the pen I was still incarcerated and imprisoned in my mind; my soul was held captive by my belief system, and my behavior was very destructive. I was a very destructive individual in my community.” The last time he got out, Louis said he didn’t know what to do, but he knew he needed make a change. Last November, Louis enrolled in the Apprenticeship Preparation Program “and the rest,” he says, “is history.”

Louis begins work with PCL Construction at the new L.A. soccer stadium this Monday!

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