Success Stories - Matt Mergen '92
Community Servant
UBCS recognizes those civil servants who put their lives at risk for us every day. One of our 1992 graduates, Matt Mergen, is a police officer in our area. His work in the community exemplifies our goal at UBCS to train the next generation to reach those in need around us.
“I’m a 1992 graduate of UBCS and have been in the law enforcement field for about 8 years. I am currently a patrolman for Richland Township, where I have worked for 6+ years. Being a police officer consists of responding to calls for service, which include the occasional car chase or other adrenaline-pumping crime-fighting action, domestics (people arguing with one another), car crashes, and simple things like people being locked out of their cars. The majority of the job, however, is a lot of report writing and other paperwork, which is surprising to me, since the most terrifying word for me to hear in school was “essay.” UBCS prepared me for this field by giving a me a solid Bible background that helps me on a daily basis to deal with what I see in society, much of which is not pretty. There is nothing more powerful than daily prayer, Bible reading, and church fellowship to maintain the ability to be sensitive to what I see on the job. It’s so easy to get desensitized by what this world offers, so keeping a God-centered focus is paramount. My typing class with Miss McKeown didn’t hurt either. There are also aspects of my job that are quite rewarding. I’ve been to several law enforcement training schools, which include Child Restraint (Car Seats) Technician, Basic Crash Investigation, Motor Carrier Enforcement (commercial vehicles), and my favorite, Defensive Tactics Instructor School. I have a lot of opportunities to help people in need, give counseling to families in crisis, and provide first responder services in emergencies.
I’m married to Melissa (Buck) Mergen, also a ’92 graduate, and we have two beautiful daughters, Breana (Pookee),5, a Kindergartener at UBCS, and Allison (The Orange Juice-Sock Monster), 2, a student in the Daycare, who keep us super busy.”
UBCS is thankful for the many of our graduates who serve and have served our country and community as police officers, fireman, paramedics and even in the military. Today, we enjoy many freedoms because of their sacrifice.