Undaunted Spirit
Joe Gohagan Seizes Second Chance

By his own account, Joe Gohagan was drifting without a goal when an unnerving setback led him to redirect his life. Losing his job as a maintenance mechanic at Froedtert Hospital acted as the catalyst. It was a jolt, but at the age of 39, he seized the opportunity to throw himself headlong into getting an education that would lead to a fulfilling career.

He entered the Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC) program at Milwaukee Area Technical College in 2001 and the Power Engineering diploma program when it debuted in 2004. “I’d still be at Froedtert if I hadn’t lost my job,” he says. “I wouldn’t be where I am today. I need to be pushed to do things, but I’ll turn something negative into something positive.” The deeply religious Gohagan credits “God first and MATC second for changing
my life.”

That he certainly has done. Following a career interest developed during his days working at Froedtert, Gohagan graduated this spring from the HVAC program at the Oak Creek Campus.

He’s not stopping there, though. Gohagan also will graduate with a diploma in power engineering in the near future. In addition, he’s working toward two computer programming certifications – all with the intention of being the best-trained employee he can be.

Covering All Bases

Gohagan says HVAC technicians will always be needed because people will always need to be kept warm or cool. He believes that power engineering training, which deals with high- and low-pressure boilers, will make him even more employable. Since computers are becoming increasingly integral to HVAC systems, he also is working toward earning
certificates in CISCO programming and networking.
 

As if all of this were not enough, Gohagan also is a parent to his deceased wife’s 12-year-old grandson, Tyris. Lorraine and Joe Gohagan were raising Tyris when Lorraine was stricken with lung cancer. With the help of hospice care, Gohagan helped Lorraine through every step of her two-year struggle. They had been married for eight years when Orrain died. “She was a strong woman. Watching her helped me to really develop a deep respect for women, and a desire to help single mothers.”

That led to an interest in mentoring and providing a male role model for sons of single mothers. Gohagan currently acts as a mentor for six fatherless grade-school boys, offering life advice and coaching them in basketball. “Many of the boys go to my church now,” he says. “I try to encourage them as best I can. I give each of them $10 for every ‘A’ they earn during a semester. I don’t have a lot of money, but the Lord always makes it work out.”

Turbulent Youth

Gohagan knows what it’s like to grow up without parents. His mother died when he was five, and he had an absentee father. He and his two sisters spent years in foster care. Eventually his grandparents tried to pull his family back together and care for them, but the situation was difficult for everyone. 

He was a bright teen, maintaining a B+ average in high school, but dropped out because he preferred making money at his job as a manager of a Popeyes Fried Chicken restaurant to going to school. He earned his GED at age 20 by passing all the required tests the first time he took them. Eventually, he attended ITT in Illinois, but dropped out when school clashed with work. When he moved to the Milwaukee area, he briefly studied at the ITT campus here, but again dropped out due to job conflicts.

He didn’t attend school again until he enrolled in MATC, now filled with motivation. His bosses at both Froedtert and the Marian Franciscan Center both preached the virtues of higher education, and Gohagan took their advice to heart. He applied for and was awarded many scholarships at MATC. He has also become active in the Student Senate.

Currently, he is vice president of the Oak Creek Campus senate, as well as the treasurer of the Wisconsin Student Government. He and fellow senators recently testified regarding student financial aid, transfer of credits and TABOR (Taxpayer Bill of Rights) before the State of Wisconsin Joint Finance Committee.

In March, Gohagan and other college representatives flew to Washington, D.C., for a convention of the American Student Association of Community Colleges. He and some other MATC friends also are trying to begin a club at MATC devoted to mentoring young men.

Hopeful Future

Gohagan married recent MATC nursing graduate Kimberly Spencer in July. In August, he started what he considers his "dream job" as a project engineer/designer for Environmental Systems in Waukesha. After he graduates from MATC’s power engineering program, he intends to work toward a bachelor's degree in program engineering, which will be financed by Environmental Systems. Down the road, he is considering studying theology.  “I want to change the world and make a difference,” Gohagan says. “It’s an awesome feeling to know you’ve changed someone’s life.”

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