 | December 2007 |
Alumni Profile: Captain Kelly (Mahoney) Czeiszperger
Growing up in Chesaning, Michigan, population 2,567, Kelly (Mahoney) Czeiszperger never thought in her wildest dreams she would move far from home let alone to another country. Today she lives at Ramstein Air Force Base in Germany some 4,000 miles away from home and away from the life of a small farming community.
Czeiszperger graduated from Saginaw Valley State University in 1995 with a Bachelor of Social Work. As a student she was active in the Foreign Language Honor Society and the Student Social Work Association. Beyond SVSU she received a Master of Clinical Social Work from Michigan State University in 1997 and became a Board Certified Diplomat in Social Work. The military became part of her life when she married her husband, Daniel, who was in the Navy. Upon completing his military service obligation they moved back to Michigan for a short time. Czeiszperger notes, "The Air Force afforded me a career that was very similar to what I was doing in the civilian sector. The difference is that I make considerably more money in the Air Force than I did in the civilian sector. I get to live in places some people only dream of and travel all over the world, while supporting my country. My position allows for me to supervise medical doctors, not something that most social workers can say!" Her current rank is Captain and she has been an active member of the military for five years.
"I am a Program Manager for the base's Family Advocacy Program. In the civilian sector this would be comparable to the Executive Director of a Child Protective Services agency. The military's need for clinical social workers has increased. Our services are needed to work with the active duty members who have been and are deployed, their families, and those service members who stay behind to take on the workload when their comrade is out in the deployed setting."
Czeiszperger is also the proud mother of three children, Megan 8, and twins Ryan and Brett, 3. "My children are extremely resilient. Living in a foreign country seems like second nature to them. Having grown up in the same village my entire life, I do not know that I could have adapted so well. We are not entirely immersed in the German culture due to the immense number of Americans in the area. Little by little we are learning German and acclimating to the culture." In her spare time she enjoys traveling, working out and reading.
This fall Czeiszperger contacted the SVSU Alumni Association for materials to represent SVSU at the Ramstein Air Force Base's annual College Night. "It was great! For over 2 hours I boasted about SVSU's low college tuition rate, low student to professor ratio, and the stellar educational offerings. I ran out of brochures 40 minutes into the night!"
When asked how the SVSU Alumni Association can support our troops, Czeiszperger responded, "There are so many ways the Alumni Association can help out, locally and globally. Writing letters, sponsoring a troop or unit that is deployed, visiting the local VA hospital, getting involved in projects that benefit returning wounded soldiers, contacting the local Guard offices to see if they have any families of deployed members that need help during the holiday season (i.e. snow shoveling, handyman work), phone cards, etc. You name it! All troops are very appreciative in knowing someone cares about them! Landstuhl Regional Medical Center (where the injured troops fly in) is close to where I am stationed. Anytime I read about someone from my local area that is on their way there, I make an attempt to stop in and thank them for their service."
Czeiszperger's thinks that her most significant accomplishments were completing her Master of Clinical Social Work in the Advanced Standing Program (one year) and getting commissioned in to the Air Force as a Medical Officer. Her motto is "'If you're handed it, you can handle it.' "I've had to use that more times than I can count! Look beyond yourself and you never know what you will find. You do not always need a concrete plan in order to achieve success."
Czeiszperger ended, "It is such an honor to be featured in this forum!"
E-news Post Script: On behalf of the SVSU Alumni Association we THANK YOU, Captain Czeiszperger for your service to our country! We wish all of the men and women in the military PEACE for this holiday season.
Note:The SVSU Alumni Association recently mailed care packages to 27 soldiers serving in Iraq, including the son of alumnus, Bruce Niederer, B.S. '96.