同情处于危机中的人

What drives one person to lead a positive and prosocial life and another person to lead a life of crime? It’s a question that has always fascinated Michele Squires ’02.

“I’ve always been interested in psychology and behavioral sciences,” Michele said. “What is it that influences people to go one direction versus another? 我一直对这个问题的答案着迷.”

Michele has continued to pursue that topic since graduating in 2002 with a degree in 刑事司法 来自Mount Mercy大学. 这样做的时候, Michele has been enabled to follow a career path doing work that she finds most fulfilling—helping people feel more comfortable, 听到, 和理解. She currently serves as Chief Clinical Officer at an addiction treatment center in Memphis, 田纳西州, and is the 2024 recipient of Mount Mercy’s Misericordiae Award as an alumni leader.

“我总是对处于危机中的人很感兴趣,”她说。, “and really enjoy the role of helping people to find a solution.”

A native of California, Michele came to Cedar Rapids when her husband received a local job offer. An introductory criminal justice class at Kirkwood 社区 College piqued her interest in criminal justice, and a professor pointed her in the direction of the criminal justice program at Mount Mercy.

40岁的她不是一个传统的大学生. 随着她对她的研究领域的深入, she soon found herself drawn more toward the rehabilitation and treatment side of her 刑事司法 degree.

“I was more fascinated with that side of the fence once I understood it more and saw that it could influence the direction of people’s lives” Michele said.

回顾她在仁慈山的时光, Michele appreciated the wisdom and support of the entire criminal justice department at the time, 尤其是刑事司法副教授Deb Brydon, 是谁鼓励她攻读硕士学位的.

“I certainly felt more prepared after my education at Mount Mercy,” Michele said. “我真的很感激.”

毕业后, Michele has split time working for both nonprofit and for-profit organizations, helping individuals who have found themselves in less-than-ideal situations. Her first job was as a Halfway House Counselor for Heart of Iowa in Cedar Rapids, where she helped reunite families that were affected by addiction. 同时, she earned a master’s degree (remotely) in criminal justice from the University of Cincinnati.

这份工作非常适合我, 但当她丈夫得到一份新工作时, 她和家人搬到了孟菲斯, 田纳西州 — an area with one of the highest crime rates in the nation. The new city and different crime landscape gave her an opportunity to really plug into solution-based work and dive deeper into the root cause of these societal issues. 她在孟菲斯的工作

included work as a Treatment Supervisor at a community corrections program; diverting individuals out of incarceration, Program Director at a large regional behavioral health hospital, Adjunct Professor at Memphis Theological Seminary where she developed an addiction-focused counseling curriculum, 一家女性成瘾治疗中心的临床主任, and Executive Director of Chemical Dependency for a multi-hospital healthcare organization.

Since 2019 she has served as Chief Clinical Officer at First Step Recovery Centers, which provides free treatment for individuals with addiction and co-occurring disorders. Michele not only oversees clinical services, but she helps train and develop new counselors.

Reflecting on her work with people experiencing addiction and co-occurring disorders, Michele said “Meeting people in their pain and walking beside them is really the closest thing that I believe I have felt to God’s grace. Walking beside someone who is experiencing some of the most difficult moments of their life has been such an honor.”

“我在我的领域获得了很多知识... but there’s not a day that goes by that I don’t learn something new from the clients I serve. They really teach me about resiliency and hope, and I think that’s because I remain teachable. 无论你认为自己知道多少，都要保持可教性.——Michele Squires 2002年

Michele has been honored for her work and accomplishments in her chosen field. 2002年，她从Mount Mercy中学毕业, she received the Mount Mercy 刑事司法 Award for 社区 Corrections. 除了, she won the Professional of the Year Award for the 田纳西州 Association of Alcohol and Drug Abuse Counselors (TAADAC) in 2015 and the Professional of the Year Award for the West 田纳西州 Association of Alcohol and Drug Abuse Counselors (West TAADAC) in 2020.

回顾她的职业生涯, Michele urges today’s students to remain open and teachable throughout their lives.

“我在我的领域获得了很多知识, book knowledge and knowledge actually providing direct care to clients, but there’s not a day that goes by that I don’t learn something new from the clients I serve,”她说。. “They really teach me about resiliency and hope, and I think that’s because I remain teachable. 无论你认为自己知道多少，都要保持可教性.”

It’s an approach that has served her well through an accomplished career, and Michele appreciates Mount Mercy for laying the foundation for her success.

“Mount Mercy has really changed the whole trajectory of my life,”她说。. “Personally, professionally, spiritually—all directions at once. I had no idea that it was going to do that, so I’m really grateful.”