Reinventing Stephanie: From Drug Addict to Counselor
Graduate shares her battle with addiction and how she's helping others
When Stephanie Good graduated from Fox Valley Technical College in May, it did not take her long to put her degree—and her real-life experiences—to work in a positive way.
A graduate of the college’s Substance Use Disorder Counseling program, Stephanie is now a drug counselor who frequently shares her personal story of addiction to help others in need. And, she does not spare the details.
Stephanie overdosed twice, was in jail multiple times, and was assaulted and beaten during drug deals. Her family tried in vain to get her help. Finally, pregnancy brought Stephanie’s downward spiral to a halt.
“It was just a defining moment in my life because I always would say, ‘I’m hurting nobody but myself with my addiction,’” Stephanie explained. “But at that point, it was like, ‘Now my actions are affecting someone other than me. I literally have another human being inside of me.’ That was my wake-up call.”
Living on the west coast, the ah-ha moment brought Stephanie back to Wisconsin and back to her family. Her son was born and Stephanie made the decision to go back to school and enrolled at Fox Valley Tech. This past May, Stephanie graduated with her associate degree and now works at Mooring House, an addiction treatment center in Appleton. She credits her six-year-old son with saving her life.
Stephanie recently shared many more details about her addiction battle with Spectrum News 1. You can read the full story here: Neshkoro woman was at death’s door because of drug addiction, an unwanted pregnancy saved her life