Faces of NLU: Meet Jason Sterwerf
A working father dedicated to supporting his community comes back to school to earn his master’s degree and build long-lasting friendships and professional connections at NLU.
At NLU, we strive to build a strong campus community among our students, faculty, and staff, whether students are taking classes online, in-person, or both. We believe a strong community encourages a collaborative learning environment in which everyone has a better opportunity to succeed. Jason Sterwerf is one NLU graduate who truly embraced NLU’s community while earning his M.S. in Community Counseling (now M.S. Counseling: Illinois) in 2014.
Jason says one of the main reasons he chose NLU when he went back to school was because of the M.S. in Community Counseling program’s cohort model. In a cohort model, students are grouped together at the start of their program and take all classes together as they progress toward graduation. This model provides more networking and collaborative learning opportunities between students and helps build a strong classroom community, which can help students feel connected when completing coursework online. Many programs at NLU offer the cohort model.
Jason says that the community of classmates and mentors that he built while learning in the cohort model are what have helped him succeed since graduation.
“National Louis provided the educational environment along with mentors, colleagues, and classroom enrichment that allowed me the opportunity to [develop my ideas] and grow professionally,” Jason says.
Earning his master’s degree while working and raising a family was not easy for Jason, though. Jason says one of the most challenging aspects of earning his master’s degree was balancing his schoolwork with family life.
“Our family has 7 children,” Jason explains. “Our family is a blended family, with step-siblings, biological siblings, and children adopted through foster care. The [Community Counseling] program was supportive in providing an environment that encouraged class attendance, homework completion, and overall development. During the educational process, NLU’s team was understanding, supportive, and professional in allowing our family to experience the success of achieving my goals while [allowing me to] balance family life.”
Jason also says that he had the tendency to get ahead of himself while thinking of future goals and obligations, but that the NLU faculty were helpful in reminding him to stay on task.
“One of my instructors (Dr. Kirkpatrick) introduced a phrase to us that I still use today with many of my private practice clients. She would remind us when we started to look too far into the future [...] that we were ‘borrowing trouble’ and that things far off in the distance should not be our primary focus.”
Jason has used the skills and knowledge he learned in his M.S. Community Counseling program to serve his community through public service:
“In my previous career, I was the Director of the Office of Special Projects for the 22nd Judicial circuit in Woodstock. I was responsible for the Adult Drug Court, Mental Health Court, Veterans Court, and DUI Court. During the time [I worked there], our program was awarded over 2 million dollars in grant funding to implement programs, improve treatment outcomes for participants, conduct testing for transmittable diseases, assist with housing options, and reunification of family members. In addition to the federal grant funding, the Specialty Courts in McHenry County were also selected to be one of ten mentor courts for the National Drug Court Institute in the U.S. – where the programs conduct visitors to learn best practices and how to effectively manage treatment programs.”
Now, Jason works to improve the police’s response to community needs in McHenry, Illinois:
“My current job is Social Service Coordinator for the McHenry Police Department. This position is charged with creating improved law enforcement responses to mental health and substance use disorders, along with other community needs. This is a newly created position, and I am tasked with building the program from the ground up and making sure our community has appropriate responses to support our officers and community members.”
Given the long-lasting relationships and connections he built during his program, it’s no surprise that Jason’s advice to current NLU students is to embrace the campus community:
“Do not live on an island: enjoy your educational experience and engage in conversation with your classmates, as these will be your colleagues when you complete your journey.”
Want to learn more about our Ph.D. in Community Psychology program or our M.S. in Counseling program? You can view all of our degree programs here or contact an Enrollment Specialist online to discuss your personal and professional goals.
