At Saint Louis University, she’s known as “the glue that holds Micah together.” For eight years, Debra Wilson has been working at SLU as the Micah House program’s coordinator.
Before she came to SLU, Wilson ran her own licensed, in-state childcare program, so she could stay home with her two small boys; she was a “paired educator” with the Pair program for six years. However, eventually her boys got older, and she needed something else to do.
“I was always an activist and a volunteer in my adult years, and I am particularly interested in environmental issues and how they impact people in poverty; it almost always impacts them more than anyone else,” Wilson said.
That’s when she found a job at SLU that fit her passion- the Micah coordinator.
“I have a bachelor’s degree in communication, and once I started working at SLU, I felt that it was vital to get a Master’s in communication,” Wilson said. “I just achieved that goal just two years ago.”
The Micah program began 12 years ago, when the faculty decided to bring many aspects of a student’s life together into one program: faith, studies and community service. Over the years, the Micah program has grown from a small group to a large organization. This is partly due to Wilson’s role as coordinator, as she has implemented many innovative ideas, most recently, “The Urban Project.”
“The Urban Project is the connecting factor between vocation and career for the Micah students, as it allows them to take what they learned from the program and apply it to their future careers,” Wilson said.
To do this, Micah has been partnered with 15 other areas on campus to ensure a smooth transition from program to career.
Overall, Wilson coordinates 15 different service sites and says that the hardest part of the job is making sure that it fits into the students’ schedules.
“It is very hard to get the students all set up. The monthly events, the weekly volunteer events and providing transportation to each individual student at a time that works is very difficult and can be very frustrating, ” Wilson said.
Whether she is organizing a Halloween party at an inner-city school, a Valentine’s Day program for an adult daycare center or a benefit concert for St. Louis Campus Kitchen, Wilson keeps busy planning Micah events.
Most recently, Wilson has been planning the benefit concert for Haiti; it’s on Jan. 22.
“We are in a position to react very quickly to the crisis, and it is great that we can help out,” she said.
Overall, Wilson says that she wouldn’t trade her job for anything.
“I love going to the service sites to see the students volunteer; it is a very rewarding experience. I also love interacting with all the students and watching them grow,” Wilson said. “It’s like a tight-knit family.”
