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Mike Barnhart ’97 never pictured himself as a college graduate. 尽管如此，迈克毕业于仁慈山大学，在非营利机构的长期职业生涯中取得了成功，并担任地平线家庭服务联盟的首席执行官。

2008年，迈克在试图进入锡达拉皮兹市中心的社区交通服务（NTS）办公室时，发现自己爬上了天桥。 Flood waters were continuing to rise beneath him, but Mike—who was the Executive Director of NTS—knew he wanted to save critical information before the torrent washed it away.

不幸的是，天桥内大门的钥匙太低了，他无法进入，所以他不得不发挥创意。

“We climbed over the gate, we had to bust up this plexiglass,” said Mike. “We’re wading through this water and I took all my computers upstairs.”

迈克保存了有附加信息的服务器。 这使得国税厅在洪水发生后几天内就提供了交通工具，使人们能够继续上班。

“I was 34 when I started college,” Mike shared. “In my early life I had drug problems, I never graduated high school, and when I started going back to school, I had no clue what I wanted to do.”

迈克开始在柯克伍德上课，并在帮助行业中探索职业可能性。 He considered working as a Substance Abuse Counselor, but he wasn’t sure if one-on-one work was the right path.

“It seemed like social work was a better fit for me,” Mike shared. “Especially when I started learning about macro and micro practice. Macro practice was a place for me.”

When Mike transferred to Mount Mercy, he began in the 社会工作计划 and got hands-on experience that confirmed his choice. 他在MAHP住房机构的实习帮助他实时看到宏观社会工作的效果。

“I worked with these kids from Metro High School,” said Mike. “I felt like, I was one of those Metro kids when I was that age, and I really liked that.”

随着迈克对社会工作的可能性了解的越来越多，他更加接受了这个项目。 He found a lot of encouragement from his professors: John Rogers, 乔妮霍德兰, and Rick Zingher.

Mike experienced a lot of life changes at Mount Mercy—including the death of his mother and the birth of his daughter. 在这些重大的人生事件中，迈克总能感受到教授们的支持。

在导师的激励下，勤奋和奉献，迈克从仁慈山中学毕业了。

“I never thought I’d graduate from college,” said Mike. “I didn’t think that was in the cards for me.”

毕业后，迈克开始了他在人力服务行业的职业生涯。 他于2000年开始担任国税厅执行董事。

Mike was honored with Mount Mercy’s 校友 Merit Award in 2004. 校友优异奖是颁发给那些在专业发展和成就方面表现出色的应届校友。

2015年，NTS与Horizons合并，Mike成为副总裁。 2018年，迈克接任首席执行官。

Offering a variety of human services across Eastern Iowa—including transportation, financial wellness, and Meals on Wheels—Horizons has provided opportunities to improve the lives of individuals and families for 60 years.

The flood was not the only time in Mike’s career that he had to adapt quickly. 当COVID-19大流行开始时，地平线必须考虑他们可以对上门送餐做出哪些改变，以确保每个人尽可能安全，同时仍然提供急需的膳食。

仅仅几个月后，飓风来袭，锡达拉皮兹的许多家庭发现自己没有电了。 两天后，“送餐上门”又来了，送来了花生酱、果冻三明治、罐头食品和其他不易腐烂的食品。

“The thing I’m probably most proud of is the team that’s assembled here at Horizons,” Mike shared.

“Human services and social work are female dominated industries, and I’m especially very proud of the strong, smart, independent women that work with me.”

迈克觉得他所受的教育为他事业上的成功打下了基础。 他和很多校友一起工作，喜欢和别人谈论他们在Mount Mercy的经历。

“I value my education from Mount Mercy,” Mike shares. “It’s always an instant connection when I see somebody else that has graduated from Mount Mercy.”

“I think back fondly on my days of walking through the tunnels,” said Mike. “It was a wonderful learning experience and I can’t think of another place I would have rather gone to school.”