After working for years at the City of Mountain Home’s Water Treatment Plant, Ron Jacques knew he was working in a job that didn’t fulfill his dreams. At 49, with no prior college experience, his wife encouraged him to quit work and go to school to find his purpose in life. He told his wife he had decided to do what she had done for years – be a social worker.

While his wife knew that social work required a master’s degree, which would mean six years of college for Jacques, she helped him enroll at ASUMH. “I watched my wife for 25 years make a difference in people’s lives, and I wanted that for myself too,” said Jacques. Earning his Associate of Arts from ASUMH wasn’t easy for the non-traditional student, but he graduated cum laude and was named Student of the Year. “Going back to school scared the fire out of me,” said Jacques. “Ihadn’t been on a campus in 30 years, but the respect I received from the faculty at ASUMH made it possible for me.” At graduation, when one of his beloved professors hugged him telling him she was proud of him, Jacques said it was a highlight of his life.
Upon graduating from ASUMH, Jacques was accepted into three social work programs.

Graduating with a bachelor’s degree and the highest GPA in the class, he took one weekend off and began a master’s program, which he completed in just one year. Now working at the Acute Inpatient Rehab Unit at Baxter Regional Medical Center, Jacques deals mostly with victims of stroke, traumatic brain injury and spinal cord injury. He provides counseling to patients and their families giving emotional support they need at critical times. In addition, he coordinates discharge planning and works with families to
line up community resources once patients leave the hospital.

“Once I quit my job, I never looked back,” said Jacques. “ASUMH was the best thing to ever happen to me. It changed my life.” Jacques added “ASUMH has brought a positive effect on the entire community,” he said. “It has given those who might not have had a chance at an education, an opportunity to have one, and that includes me.”