USD School of Health Sciences Success Spotlight: Kristi "Cricket" Palmer

Degree: MA, Addiction Counseling & Prevention

Current Position: Alcohol and Drug Control Officer, South Dakota National Guard

Kristi Palmer, known to her friends as "Cricket", is one of those rare students who came into the School of Health Sciences master's program in Addiction Counseling & Prevention with decades of experience in the field. 

For 20 years of her 28-year military career, Palmer worked in the South Dakota National Guard's Drug Demand Reduction (DDR) program, teaching students across the region about the dangers of drug and alcohol abuse and addiction. 

"Once I retired from the military in 2017, I decided I wanted to take the next step and get a master's degree in Addiction Counseling and Prevention," says Palmer. "It had been 30 years since I was an undergrad, so it was a huge decision to make."

Palmer says she was drawn to USD's program because of the depth of knowledge and experience among the professors, the diversity of students in the program, and the emphasis on prevention as well as addiction. 

"Many places only focus on addiction, but the School of Health Sciences brings in the prevention aspect, too, which is so important," says Palmer. "Prevention is really my first passion so that was one of the most appealing things about the program for me."

Another appealing feature of USD's program was the opportunity to add a concentration in co-occurring disorders, which Palmer did. 

"There is always a reason why people are drinking and drugging," says Palmer, whose current job as an Alcohol and Drug Control Officer with the South Dakota National Guard is part of a larger psychological health program which includes things like suicidie prevention and resiliency. 

"We know that these things often occur together," says Palmer. "The fact that USD addresses that just adds to the strength of the program."

Congratulations to this USD School of Health Sciences success story!