When Joey Pagano '21, '22 left the Army in 1996, there was no pomp and circumstance.

His Other Than Honorable discharge declared him unfit to serve in the military and ineligible to receive veteran benefits.

“(The Army) called me a junkie and addict. At the time, I did not understand that I suffered from a disease,” Pagano said in his 2023 book, “No Addict Left Behind.” “I did not know there was treatment, let alone what treatment even consisted of. All I knew was that I was suffering, and now, there was no way out.”

The next two decades were filled with some good times mixed with many bad moments as Pagano battled a drug addiction that was, in his words, killing both him and his family. He could not, in his mind, be a family man, son, father and husband to those who loved him because the addiction was destroying him, pushing him to turn himself in to police for a theft he committed to get drug money.

“I was so beat down, so, so beat down, man,” Pagano said in an interview. “I almost killed myself. But there was this moment of clarity – I always liked that quote from ‘Shawshank Redemption’ of ‘get busy living or get busy dying’ – and when I was released from jail, I just decided that this was not going to be the end of my story.”

Pagano began his climb into recovery. The self-proclaimed “Mon Valley boy” celebrates his clean day as June 1, 2013. Since then, he has devoted himself to helping others overcome addiction. His book, co-authored by Dr. Scott Cook and available through Amazon and other bookstores, recounts the lessons Pagano learned during his climb back to the top.

But Pagano was not happy with just bouncing back and helping those with addiction where he could. He decided that to properly help others, he needed to serve as a social work professional, and only one college came to his mind to pursue that goal.

“My father graduated from Cal, so I always saw value in an education from there,” Pagano said of the PennWest California campus. “I had the life experience and a job that utilized that experience, but I didn’t have that …nobility, I guess? I believe in education because that was what was instilled into me from my father. I wanted to, as the book says, get good and get chosen.”

After earning his associate degree from Westmoreland County Community College, Pagano enrolled at PennWest California. He completed his bachelor’s degree in social work in 2021 and master’s in social work in 2022. Pagano gives credit to Cal’s social work department for their assistance during the process.

“There are so many members of the faculty at Cal that changed my life and my perspectives,” Pagano said. “They took an interest in me. They were always available to talk and assist and give me opportunities to learn more and better myself. They guided me along this journey.”

Pagano continues to look for ways to help others in their battle with addiction. His goal is to shatter the stigma around addiction and show that a path to clean and sober living is possible. He travels throughout the area, assisting others in combating the disease. His second book, “From Scars to Stars,” was released in May 2024.

Most importantly, Pagano wants others to know they can atone for past mistakes. He received a pardon from the Pennsylvania Governor’s Office that absolved him of crimes he committed while addicted, and on June 1, 2023, a decade after his clean date, he received a letter from the Army notifying him that his discharge status had been upgraded to honorable. He was, once again, a military veteran.

“To get that letter, to have both your state and your government see your value … that’s why I say that no addict can be left behind. We all still have our stories to tell.”