Meet Our Alums
The MercyWorks program is in its ninth year and has 98 alumni to date. We are pleased to stay in touch with our alumni and hear about what they are doing, especially because they continue to bear witness to God's call to serve the world around them and live out the MercyWorks values.
MercyWorks Alumni Overview
53 alumni have accepted positions as paid staff at Mercy Home after their volunteer year. Five of them have worked in supervisory positions at Mercy Home.
Eighteen alumni accepted other positions in the social services or education fields after their volunteer year concluded.
60 of our alumni have entered graduate programs for social work (36), medicine (1), counseling psychology (6), education (3), law (9), public policy (1), social justice (1), theology (3), business (3) or art (1). Two people have completed dual degree programs.
Dan Greene
Dan Greene was a youth care worker in the Bosco Home during his year with MercyWorks in 2004-2005. After completing his year of service, Dan completed law school at the University of Notre Dame and even spent a semester studying law in England. Dan spent the summer of 2006 working with Lawyers for Children of New York City, where he advocated for the rights of youth in foster care, working with trial attorneys and social workers to discover the best living situation available to abused, neglected or otherwise troubled youth. Dan recently said, "My time with MercyWorks created the career path I am currently pursuing, one I hope would make all the youth I worked with at Mercy Home proud."
Trish Parker
Trish Parker was a youth care worker in Sheil Home with the 2003-2004 group of MercyWorks volunteers. Following her volunteer year, she completed graduate school in Social Services Administration at the University of Chicago, where she received a clinical degree and a certificate in family support. During her graduate school studies, Trish continued to work at Mercy Home, both as a support staff in Youth Programs and a match support representative in the Friends First mentoring program. Trish currently works as a social worker at the University of Chicago Medical Center. She also continues to be involved at Mercy Home as a youth care support staff and volunteers at annual events with the Home. Trish recently said, "My experiences as a volunteer, both working with the youth and living in community, taught me about my ability to work with others and about the real need to work towards social justice."
Scott Davis
Scott Davis served as a youth care worker in Campbell Home with the 2001-2002 group of MercyWorks volunteers. When the volunteer year ended, Scott stayed on in Campbell Home until 2004, when he took on the role of Youth Care Supervisor in Sheil Home. While working with the youth in residence, Scott enrolled in the Graduate School of Social Work at Dominican University and earned his Masters of Social Work degree. Scott has remained at Mercy Home, where he continues to provide guidance and support for the new MercyWorks volunteers and youth care workers in Sheil Home. When asked about his experience as a volunteer, Scott shared, "My experiences during my volunteer year helped clarify what I wanted to do and confirmed how much I enjoyed working at Mercy Home. It is the small miracles I've witnessed each day in the lives of the kids that made me decide to stay on at Mercy Home...it just feels right."
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Allison Rainey
Allison Rainey served as an Aftercare and Quille Home case manager during the 2004-2005 MercyWorks volunteer year. Allison has since moved across the country to Southern California, where she recently completed a Master of Divinity degree at Claremont School of Theology. She works in ministry at Church of the Ascension in Sierra Madre, CA, and is a postulant for priesthood in the Episcopal Church. Allison says of her MercyWorks experience, "Being a part of the lives of so many youth in the Aftercare and Quille Home programs helped me to understand the complexity of social problems and the deep needs of each human being. The year helped me to discern a call to ordained ministry and to develop a meaningful theology of community."