Read their stories…

Med Lab Students Discover Secret to Thriving in High-Stress Environments

Iowa Goes to Hollywood

Giving the Gift of Hope

Mount Mercy seniors Amanda Walker Mikita and Sossity Davis embody these characteristics. They are required to be: it’s their job.

As Medical Laboratory Science interns with St. Luke’s Hospital in Cedar Rapids, Mikita and Davis are two of the unsung heroes of the hospital world, tasked with testing patient samples sent to the Medical Laboratory by physicians. Such tests require a quick, flawless turn-around so that physicians are able to make a diagnosis and chart a course of treatment for their patients.

Luckily, Mikita and Davis thrive under pressure, and the skills they have learned in the classroom as Medical Laboratory Science majors have prepared them for the fast-paced career.

“I love that I have never had a day that was the same as any other day,” says Mikita, who is originally from Central City, Iowa. “I love the challenge of when it’s really busy or you are working on something really complicated. I love figuring things out.”

Following three years of coursework, in which MLS  majors focus on chemistry, biology and learning the theories behind laboratory instrumentation, students are required to complete an internship in the field prior to graduation.

Thriving partnership
Students are able to complete the internship at any hospital with an MLS internship program. Not surprisingly, Mount Mercy students gravitate to St. Luke’s because of its strong reputation and proximity to the University. Over the past 20 years, 27 students from Mount Mercy have completed the MLS internship and gone on to become successful technologists.

“The most important thing that I have learned [at St. Luke’s] is what MLS will be like as a career,” says Mikita. “I have been able to gain experience that I never could in a classroom setting, and I have been able to understand what it will be like working as a MLS. I have been able to confirm that this is the right career path for me.”

Coursework for MLS majors is tailored to give students a flavor of what they will learn in the hospital setting, and includes the study of bacteriology, parasitology, immunology, hematology, blood banking and clinical chemistry, with special study of chemistries such as drug detection and alcohol analysis. “Students learn the theory behind the instrumentation and they are taught to analyze properly so the information they are testing is accurate,” says Assistant Professor of Chemistry Kristopher Keuseman, who directs the MLS major.

‘Curious’ students
Keuseman notes that successful MLS students share common characteristics and motivations. “MLS students are hard working and interested in the sciences,” says Keuseman. “They are part of the engine that drives the hospital, even if they aren’t the public face. They are very curious.”

Lindsey Mullenbach, MLS program coordinator at St. Luke’s, agrees with Keuseman’s assessment. “The best students for MLS are those who like to solve puzzles and learn new things, are good at multitasking and can remain calm,” she says. “There are times when the laboratory is very busy and it’s important to focus on the job at hand and to work as a team with your fellow laboratorians. This is an occupation for people who want to work in healthcare, but may not want the continual patient interaction involved with other careers.”

As Mikita and Davis prepare to graduate this year, both are confident that the skills they have developed and honed at Mount Mercy and St. Luke’s will help them on the path to future employment – and to a rewarding career that they enjoy.

“When I started researching MLS, I fell in love with it,” says Mikita. “It would give me a career doing everything I loved: helping people, fastpaced, chemistry, microbiology, and working with gross stuff! I always have been fascinated by microorganisms: we can’t see them, but they are everywhere, and some of them we couldn’t live without, and others could kill us!”

Jessica Joens ’12 can’t quite remember how she reacted when she got the call, but she’s pretty sure she let out a cheer. After applying for a competitive, one-of-a-kind internship in Hollywood on the Warner Brothers Studio lot with the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, Joens was thrilled the wait was over — she was accepted. “That call was gold,” she says.

A senior English major with a minor in film studies and creative writing, Joens couldn’t believe she’d landed such an outstanding opportunity to get her foot in the door of such an elusive industry. Nearly 1,300 individuals applied for the internship Joens nabbed with the support and advice of her Mount Mercy professors.

“If anyone deserves credit, it’s them,” says Joens. Mount Mercy professors helped by writing recommendation letters, coordinating Joens’ schedule, smoothing away timing concerns (Joens wouldn’t return until later in the semester) and above all, pushing her to believe in herself.

“They really supported me,” she says. “I wasn’t sure if I was going to be able to do it; it seemed so daunting at the time.”

“This was an once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for Jessica to use her major to get on-the-job training in a profession she loved,” says Assistant Professor of English Chris DeVault, Ph.D., who wrote  recommendation letters on Joens’ behalf. “We felt that it was our responsibility to do everything we could to help her as she pursued this opportunity. In a closeknit community like Mount Mercy, you really care for your students and want them to succeed.”

Senior English major Jessica Joens nabbed one of the most sought-after internships in the country - opening the door for her to stretch her classroom experience all the way to Hollywood.

From July to September 2011, Joens gained one of the most
memorable experiences of her college career. Her role as an “everything and anything” intern on set, in the production office and behind the scenes for popular shows like “Harry’s Law” gave a whirlwind introduction to a field she’s passionate about.

“There are not that many women who work behind-the-scenes in higher positions in the TV world,” says Joens. “One of my dreams is to get into that field and work my way up — be a strong role model for women in this profession.”

While her education in close reading as an English major helped her research and analyze script ideas for producers, it was her critical thinking skills that helped her remain flexible and light-footed in the ever changing landscape of script rewrites.

“I had to really think on my feet…you never knew what was going to be thrown at you,” she says. “I had to multitask, be creative, think outside the box, analyze information, constantly try and figure things out — my English major prepared me for this.”

This skill set comes as no surprise to DeVault. “When students ask me what they can do with an English major, I typically reply by asking, ‘What can’t you do with an English major?’” he says.

In addition to making professional connections in the field, Joens found herself chatting with Ashton Kutcher about Cedar Rapids, joking with Conan O’Brien or bumping into other legends.

“I never understood the meaning of ‘star struck’ until I saw Clint Eastwood,” she says.

Joens’ tenure in Hollywood helped her realize how much impact she can have on achieving her future. “It is amazing how people underestimate what they can do and learn about themselves,” she says. “The sky’s the limit. You can do whatever you set your mind to.”

After a counselor eased her through a difficult time, she heard the call to help people and has been following it ever since. After graduating from Mount Mercy University with a degree in psychology, she is currently completing her second-year practicum for Mount Mercy’s Master of Arts in Marriage and Family Therapy (MFT) program at the Grace C. Mae Advocate Center in Cedar Rapids. A non-profit mental health agency, the Center serves individuals and families. Miller is discovering how play therapy can help children with their problems and childhood disorders, such as developmental or autism spectrum disorders.

While this may sound innocuous, the situations Miller encounters can be challenging. At Grace C. Mae, she works to build long-term relationships with her patients and learn how to listen to them. “With children,” she says, “it’s much harder to make an immediate assessment. That makes listening the most important tool in my therapeutic toolbox.”

Play therapy is a technique Heather uses with children where toys become their words, and the way toys are used becomes the language. Play therapy requires Miller to listen in a whole new way.

“It’s like learning a different language. The goal is to find the right meaning. To find it, I have to do what is called ‘reflective listening.’ Play therapy requires unconditional regard, and for children it may be their first experience with total acceptance.”

Marriage and Family Therapy Program Director Randy Lyle Ph.D., who also serves as Miller’s faculty supervisor agrees. “All MFT students are required to do practicums, which help prepare them for licensing. More importantly, it helps them put theory into practice. Often, they are surprised by the diversity of people and presentations, by how demanding it is, how hard it is to sit and truly listen to people. On practicums like Heather’s, students learn to listen for the spoken and the unspoken, body language, contradictions.”

The strong clinical component is unique to Mount Mercy’s MFT program, the only one of its kind in Iowa. “This experience—and what separates this degree from others—is that in addition to a professional education, our students go on a journey of self-discovery. It involves a lot more personal growth. This is why we supervise students, to offer space for reflection on their experience with a working professional,” says Lyle.

In addition to her supervision by Lyle, Miller receives live, on-site supervision by an experienced health care professional at the Grace C. Mae Center. Like all MFT students, Heather is paired with a therapist who is always in the room monitoring her work. She functions in a co-therapeutic role throughout the duration of her practicum placement. In this way, Heather benefits from exposure to all types of patients and their unique situations.

The MFT practicum has been a life changing experience for Miller, though in some ways she was prepared for it by her experience as an undergraduate at an institution where the notion of serving others for the common good played a strong role in her education. “You have to be selfless and genuine to be a good therapist,” she says, “You have to set your ego aside and think solely in terms of what is in the best interest of your patient. You will often make mistakes—as we all do—but as long as you can elicit hope, change will occur. Your patient will begin to trust the therapeutic process and the journey to positive change will begin.”

The woman addressing the crowd of students, faculty, staff and community members wore a bright smile as she delivered her keynote address, “Mercy Beyond Borders: A Faith Journey,” during Mercy and Mission Week last September. “Great joy awaits us when we welcome God in strangers,” Lacey told the audience. She described the emotional and spiritual journey she went through working with refugees in Africa through her organization, Mercy Beyond Borders, of which she serves as executive director. Lacey’s address was the culminating event of Mercy and Mission week, a time in which the campus honors its rich Mercy traditions and the teachings of Catherine McAuley, founder of the Sisters of Mercy. In addition to Lacey’s dynamic presentation, select Sisters of Mercy visited Mount Mercy classrooms as guest speakers, enabling students to connect what they were learning to the critical concerns of the Sisters of Mercy and providing in-depth analyses on leading issues such as immigration, nonviolence, women and environmental concerns. “Mercy and Mission Week is pivotal to my teaching,” says Lecturer of Business Anne King. “I am amazed at the depth of our history, and our students are just as engaged and eager to learn about it as I am. By celebrating and highlighting our heritage, students can really connect to issues that the Sisters of Mercy fought for – issues that are still elevant to today’s society.”

“An alum once told me that Mount Mercy’s grotto is the best kept secret in Cedar Rapids,” says Professor of Art Jane Gilmor, M.F.A., who has dedicated much of her career to documenting and restoring this unique site.

Since its dedication in 1941 when architect William Lightner completed his masterpiece — traveling all over the country to secure special tiles and stones — the grotto has been through several restorations, and along the way found its own special guardian angels.

What began as one man’s “obsessive odyssey” has since evolved into a collaborative endeavor to keep the grotto maintained and cherished. Over the years, Gilmor has worked with alumni, Sisters of Mercy, students and staff to help secure grants and curators willing to carefully and expertly document, restore, rebuild, clean and maintain the historic site.

Grants in 2001 and 2010 from the Smithsonian American Heritage Foundation and the Iowa Arts Council enabled Gilmor to secure experts such as the late conservationist Anton Rager, curator Lisa Stone from the School of Art Institute in Chicago and Don Howlett from Preservation Services. All came to campus as guest lecturers and restoration experts, cleaning the calcium deposits and the pond and assessing the site for future care and upkeep. Throughout the grotto’s history, the campus support has been amazing.

“I had to raise $10,000 to match a grant, and after appealing to alumni I ended up raising $50,000 in six weeks,” says Gilmor. “From nickels and dimes. That’s how much people love the grotto.”

Currently, Gilmore is working through 2012 on the recent Historic Preservation Grant from the Iowa Art Council, waiting to hear if Mount Mercy will receive a larger matching grant from the National Endowment for the Arts, which would go for further work on the bridge and Ten Commandments column for 2012–13.

“People’s memories are associated with this place,” says Gilmor. “The grotto is an important historic and artistic site, and embodies the history of the institution in so many ways — for neighbors, the Sisters of Mercy, alumni and current students.

“We have a very important and beautiful visionary work of art on our campus — and in that way we are unique,” she says. “Many campus visitors mention it and remember it… we need to treasure and take care of it.”

As director of alumni relations, Gehris will create ongoing communication and cultivation of alumni to build and sustain alumni relationships. She coordinates event planning, supervision of the alumni database, management of alumni recognition and awards programs and administration of the alumni board.

It’s a role she is excited to take on.

“Many of our alumni feel their lives were transformed while here,” says Gehris. “They were inspired by the University’s challenge to grow as individuals and to go out into the world and make a difference in the lives of others, which so many have. Mount Mercy is a growing and progressive network of alumni, faculty, students and friends, and I’m proud to be associated with this great institution.”

Three words that describe Mount Mercy’s alumni base?

“Valued. Progressive. Caring”

Peggy Detweiler '92

Greg Buelow '95

The Executive Board of the Mount Mercy Alumni Association recently welcomed three new members: Peggy Detweiler ’92, Greg Buelow ’95 and Susan O’Conner-Von ’76.

Buelow, from Newhall, Iowa, graduated with a criminal justice degree. He serves as the Cedar Rapids Fire Department spokesperson and Special Projects Coordinator. He has received the City of Cedar Rapids Fire Chief’s Award and the National Sheriff’s Association Award, in addition to the Mount Mercy Professional Achievement Alumni Award in 2010.

Detweiler, from Maquoketa, Iowa, graduated with a Bachelor of Business Administration degree. She has served as an accountant for Wertz & Dake since 2005 and prior to that worked for a variety of non-profits,including Four Oaks. An active volunteer, Detweiler has served on the Iowana Camp Fire Board and also is currently a member of the St. Joseph School Board.

Susan O'Conner-Von '76

O’Conner-Von, a resident of Riverside, Iowa, earned a nursing degree from Mount Mercy, going on to earn a Master of Science in Maternal and Child Health, Adult Education from the University of Minnesota and a Doctor of Nursing Science degree from Rush University in Chicago. She currently teaches baccalaureate, post-baccalaureate and graduate nursing students at the University of Minnesota. She has won numerous honors and awards, including the Distinguished Service Award at Homecoming this year at Mount Mercy.

Jessica Johnson '06, Executive Director of the Iowa Cultural Corridor Alliance

“If I could sum up what the Corridor offers in one word, it would have to be ‘access,’” says Jessica Johnson ’06, the newly appointed executive director of the Iowa Cultural Corridor Alliance (ICCA). “We have so many things to enjoy and so many opportunities to enjoy them.”

Off the top of her head? Short commute times. Low entrance fees. Minimal parking problems. Diverse offerings from sporting events to farmer’s markets, music scenes to good food… add to those offerings a rich compilation of health care, higher education opportunities and strong industry, and you have the perfect ingredients for a well-rounded and robust city.

“It would be hard to have such easy access to so many things in a larger metropolitan area,” says Johnson, who earned a degree in business management and marketing from Mount Mercy. “We sometimes forget that we could very easily have to sit in traffic for an hour every day just to get home after work.”

In her new role at ICCA, Johnson will help lead the 150-member coalition of arts and culture groups that enhance collaboration, networking, funding and quality of life in the Corridor. “We have an amazing arts and culture community here, and I’m excited to work with our partners and continue collaborations,” says Johnson, of which her alma mater is a member.

Johnson values the opportunity to come back to campus as an alumna and member of the community, and appreciates the added cultural events Mount Mercy offers through speakers, plays, galleries and thought-provoking lectures every year.

“Mount Mercy’s speakers and events add to the cultural variety here,” she says, noting in particular an annual favorite, the Holocaust speaker. “The more you learn about other people and backgrounds, the more fulfilling your whole world is.”

Her advice for young alumni who want to tap into their community? “Get out there and meet people. Volunteer, plug into networking events. Build meaningful relationships. It’s great to have a job you love, but what do you do
when you get off work?”

Franzenburg, from Keystone, played two years of baseball for the Mustangs. He was a two-time NAIA honorable mention all-American and two-time NAIA Scholar-Athlete. Franzenburg earned NAIA all-Region VII and all-Midwest Classic Conference honors twice as well.

Franzenburg holds career records for saves (20), strikeouts per nine innings (9.61) and lowest opponent batting average (.194). His earned run average of 2.52 is second in school history.

Marshall, from Farmington, is the only cross country athlete in school history to win four conference titles and qualify for four NAIA cross country national meets. The four-time Harrier of the Year was also a four-time NAIA all-Region VII performer and a three-time academic all-conference award winner. She also holds the school’s 5K school record (19:03).

In track & field, Marshall was a two-time NAIA outdoor national meet qualifier. She was an MCC outdoor champion and all-MCC standout in 2004 and holds the school record in the 2,000 meter steeplechase (7:48.89).

Slaymaker, from Center Point, has the best career scoring average of any men’s golfer in school history (75.22). He was a two-time NAIA all-American and NAIA all-Region VII player.

Slaymaker was named all-conference three times and earned academic all-conference awards three times. Slaymaker also posted three of the top five single-season scoring marks in school history. His 74.20 average during the 2003–04 campaign is tied for first all-time.VanderZee, from Rock Rapids, was an NAIA all-American in 2003 and four-time all-conference selection for the women’s basketball team and the Midwest Classic Conference Most Outstanding Performer at the 2003-04 MCC Outdoor Track & Field Championships. She was a two-time NAIA Scholar-Athlete and three-time academic all-conference choice in women’s basketball and track & field.

In basketball, VanderZee finished with 1,584 points, which currently ranks eighth in school history. She also is fifth in career 3-point goals (178) and free throws made (332).

In track & field, VanderZee qualified for the NAIA outdoor national meet in 2002-03 and was also an MCC outdoor champion in 2003-04. Twice she was all-conference in outdoor track & field. VanderZee has the top five marks in school history in the heptathlon.