Gerard F. Boucher

Gerry

“I have shadowed professionals at a prison, a school for special needs children, and a residential drug rehab home; and at each site I felt at home. I am meant for this line of work.”

  • Program: 2008 Undergraduate Transfer Scholarship Recipient
  • Resides: Worcester, Massachusetts
  • Hometown: Worcester, MA
  • Age: 47

Biography

PROFILE: Two years ago, Gerard Boucher chose to end a career in computer technology to pursue a lifelong dream of working in human services. His basic tenet: “No matter how far someone has strayed from social norms, they are redeemable, recoverable human beings.” He knows this not only because he once might have been deemed “unrecoverable” himself, but also from years of experience with others who found themselves in similar situations.
After 14 years free from the drugs and alcohol that once held him back, Gerard’s life today is more about thriving than living in recovery. An experienced counselor and an example to others, he plans to equip himself academically in order to help more people—as well as enact greater changes.
INSPIRATION: Gerard has become especially interested in changing the state of elder care in this country: “I was amazed to find out that some facilities do not ask questions about an incoming resident’s hobbies, friends, families, achievements, or responsibilities that they had when they were younger. It’s no wonder that staff feel a disconnect with the people in their care.”
ASPIRATION: Gerard plans to pursue bachelor’s and master’s degrees in human services to “give back and help others to recover and become responsible, productive members of society.”
MAKING A DIFFERENCE: As Vice President and Secretary of the Human Services Club, Gerard was active in the food drive, coat drive, and Walk for Hunger. He visits elders in residential homes and fundraises for his Phi Theta Kappa chapter, in addition to volunteering at the Massachusetts Association for the Blind.
ACCOLADES: Gerard received the “You’re A Star” award by faculty nomination for outstanding contribution to family, peers, and community. He has been on the Merit List continuously for all terms, and last year received a continuing education certificate for Harvard Medical School’s “Spirituality and Healing in Medicine” conference.
INTERESTING FACT: Gerard and his wife, Dawn, whom he met while horseback riding, adopted a blind dog named Buddy.

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