Most people making the passage from prison to employment through WorkWell join the program within months of their release. Not Adam Lewis.

After he completed his eight-month sentence, five full years passed before he even heard of the program that supports ex-cons seeking to land and hold onto decent jobs.

He was staying dry, and he was working pretty consistently. But he always felt a drive to do more.

The minute a friend told him about WorkWell, he knew it sounded right.

“I’m like, let’s go over there. I knocked on the door, the guy gave me a card, he gave me the date for the next cohort. And they took me!”

On February 14, Lewis (not his real name) joined seven other former inmates in a celebration marking the start of their next chapters in life. He received two awards at the graduation ceremony and spoke enthusiastically about WorkWell: “Great communication skills, great re-entry opportunities, great staff.”

He praised practical lessons that he had not learned earlier — everything from how to manage anger to how to open a checking account.

“It’s especially good for people who want to get their life together, I mean really want it,” he said. “You got to really want it. You got to take it seriously.

“These last five years, it’s been an ambition thing, because I know what I want. After so many years, I’ve learned.”

His most recent prison time was an eight-month sentence following an alcohol-fueled brawl. “I got into an altercation, a cop was called, and I didn’t act accordingly,” he said. “I learned my lesson. Those were the last drinks I’ve had – five years ago.”

After his release, he found work and a home in the Robbinsville area, living with his girlfriend and her two daughters, now 7 and 15. Family life fuels his stubborn drive to better himself.

“I’m their stepdad, but they look up to me. I love them like they were mine. I care for them dearly.”

As a younger man, he had decided not to have children in his 20s, even his 30s. He feared he would replicate his own experience growing up in Trenton — absent parents and an insecure upbringing with his grandmother. As a youth, he developed substance abuse issues and was in and out of jail.

“Back then I would have put my kids through what my dad put me through. I would have not been in their lives.”

But now, at 35, he embraces his role as stepfather to two daughters. “I try to guide them in a way, give them advice that I learned: Who to mess with, who not to mess with. Hard-won knowledge.”

During his five-year “gap” after prison, he found work but felt discouraged about the limits of what was open to him.

His longest employment was two years at 7-Eleven. He got good at providing customer service, unloading trucks, managing lottery tickets.

“The boss loved me,” he said. “But the thing is, he wanted to keep me at the same pay rate for over two years. I’m like, I need to get up in the ranks, especially given all my ambition at the job. My skills wasn’t being rewarded the way they should have.

“I felt bad about the boss. A great guy. He gave me the opportunity. But it’s the sort of job, you want more.”

He left 7-Eleven and connected with the Father Center of New Jersey, a statewide organization with an office in Trenton and a stated mission “to support men in gaining the skills and meeting the responsibilities of fatherhood.”

In the program, he got certified to drive a forklift and learned basic carpentry, among other skills.

But like many an ex-con, he continued to struggle to find good-paying work with a future. “I’ve been out of jail five years, walking a straight line, five years sober,” Lewis said. “My main problem is employment.” Even on WorkWell graduation day, he was waiting ­— as patiently as possible — for a job offer.

Adam received a graduation award from NJ District 15 Assemblyman Anthony Verrelli.

“I know I’m going to get something. I continue to remind myself I’m a changed man. God has protected me for a very long time. He’s a big part of me cleaning up. Because you know, even He got tired of kicking me!”

Ever ambitious, Lewis said throughout his life, he never gave up or stopped striving.

“I speak two languages, I’m an American, I’m a hard-working man. I just want to be successful. Is that too much to ask? I just need opportunity.

“So, thank you, WorkWell!”