Jennifer Guertse

Current Position: Higher Fidelity Facilitator at Child and Family Focus Inc. and Gymnastics Coach/Manager at Tumbling on Haddon

Story Last Updated: Summer 2024

I took a tour of GMercyU's campus after touring many other campuses. Once being on campus and meeting staff and professors, I noticed how small the environment was and how warm and welcoming each person I met was. I fell in love with a small feel of the campus and could see myself there for the next four years.

Choosing Criminal Justice

When it was time to choose my classes for my first semester, I knew that I wanted to be in a helping profession. Because GMercyU is known to produce great nursing students with such a great nursing program, I figured that was my chance to help others.

I was randomly assigned Professor Patrick McGrain - aka Doc - to help me choose my courses. We talked about my interests and what I think I may want to pursue for my future career. This is when Doc told me about the Criminal Justice program and why I would be a good fit.

At this point in my life, I was so young and really had no idea what I wanted to do other than help people. I listened to Doc and chose Criminal Justice courses and earned my bachelor's degree in Criminal justice. It was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made.

I took so many interesting courses, met so many amazing people, learned from great professors, heard from a variety of guest speakers and shared many new experiences. This all helped me to get where I am today.

In my junior year, I was required to participate in an internship. I applied and was excepted at Philadelphia Juvenile Probation downtown. I worked with juvenile probation officers in the court system for the summer semester and attended court hearings, conducted paperwork, sat in on interviews, listened to phone calls and heard from probation officers about their experiences. This internship was a wonderful experience and an eye-opener into the Criminal Justice system especially when working with juveniles. This was the first time I encountered the field firsthand and part of the reason that I want to create changes in the system.

Experience at GMercyU

I had an unforgettable experience at GMercyU. They were some of the best years of my life and I cherish the memories that I made today. I was involved in not only my academics but a wide variety of extracurriculars.

I was part of the cheerleading team and eventually became captain. We cheered at basketball games and showed our spirit at many other events. That team holds a very special place in my heart and I still talk to many of those girls to this day. I was also a member of Student Government Association and President of my class. SGA was one of the best decisions I made when attending GMercyU.

I have never been a part of any groups other than athletics in high school. When deciding to join SGA, I met so many different people from so many different backgrounds and learned many different things from everyone. Not only did I take away experiences from being part of a governing body but I took away meaningful friendships. Being a part of SGA also opened the door for me to be class president which was such an amazing and different experience. I was able to speak on behalf of my fellow classmates and peers and raise awareness of any concern they were having on campus. I also sat on the student faculty board, was an orientation leader and a griffin ambassador. All four years of my undergraduate degree I kept very busy!

Post-Graduation Success

Currently, I'm a Behavioral Health Intern with the Montgomery County Corrections Facility. After graduating from GMercyU with a bachelor's degree in Criminal Justice in 2016, I went right into the field. I first worked as a booking clerk with the Towamencin Police Department, assisting with tasks such as mug shots, finger prints, and arraignments. Following my time there, I moved onto a new position as a Counselor with displaced children and shortly moved onto a detention center where I supervised children with their daily tasks.

While there, I built meaningful relationships with the children and wanting to help more, decided to pursue a degree in mental health and counseling. I am on pace to earn my master's degree in counseling psychology with a focus on correctional counseling in May 2023. After I earn my master's degree this spring, I will be taking the National Counselors Examination in hopes to receive my license to be a licensed professional counselor. It is my hope to stay in the correctional setting. My passion is to work with those who are involved in the criminal justice system and making their mental health a priority.

I use my whole undergraduate learning experiences in the classroom and experiential learning when working in the field. I’ve learned from so many great people and I take bits and pieces from each of their individual experiences and try to use that in my daily work.