For 10 years, Matthew Boyce was a firefighter in Rapid City and Keystone.

This Rapid City native earned an associate’s and a bachelor’s degree in Fire Science at Columbia Southern University in Alabama. “I had gone to paramedic school. I worked on the Haz Mat team, worked with Heavy Rescue and Arson,” Matthew says.

Today, at age 36, Matthew is a Residential Therapist at Black Hills Children’s Home where he works with 10 children. He’s also working on earning his doctorate in Psychology through Capella University.

Why the career change?

While firefighting was exciting, it wasn’t exactly family-friendly. Matthew has a nine-year-old daughter and the hours and unpredictability of the job made parenting difficult.

In addition, Matthew was continuing his education—and because of that, he grew and changed. “While I was working as a firefighter, I was pursuing a master’s in organizational leadership,” he says. “I had a goal to work as a fire chief one day.”

“We studied a lot of human resources and public relations—and I came to realize I had an opportunity. I could do something that didn’t rely on shoulder strength, but instead on critical thinking to get in front of some of the issues we dealt with out in the community.”

As a firefighter and first responder, Matthew witnessed these issues firsthand. “There was a lot of teen suicide, a lot of drug use, a lot of criminal behavior where we were showing up afterwards and, for lack of a better word, cleaning up the mess,” he says.

“But I saw an opportunity to get into mental health and I took it,” he says. “And as I worked in mental health, I developed the passion and the drive I have for working with kids.”

Matthew worked as an addiction counselor in a high school while earning his second master’s degree as a licensed addiction counselor. “That was when I decided I wanted to get a Psy.D. in school psychology.”

“I was working with children 14 and up in the school,” he says. So I started looking for opportunities to serve some of the younger kids, in the 4-14-year-old range. I was very fortunate to be able to get this job at CHS and work with that age group while continuing my education.”

Work-school synergy

Matthew’s job has a positive influence on his schooling, and vice versa.

“I can’t think of a better role because it does work both ways quite significantly,” he says.

“My school gives me opportunities to understand different methods of being able to connect, collaborate and consult with agencies, families and other stakeholders,” Matthew says. “When I’m going through those classes, I realize how much experience I’ve gained while working as a residential therapist. I am fortunate to be able to take some of that education through my experience and apply that to my classes. And I see a more enriched connection between the two.”

Down the road, Matthew sees himself working as a psychologist while retaining the licensed addiction counselor credentials. “I work with parents who struggle with addiction, which affects their kids. I’ve got the education to work with the children—it’s called COSAP, which stands for children of substance abusing parents. It’s a very real and raw thing that impacts 25% of kids. It’s more prevalent than we give it credit for.”

Matthew says that his favorite part of working with children at CHS is when he sees what he calls the connecting moments. “They’re brilliant, they’re so smart—and their experiences, unfortunately, force them to a level in their life that doesn’t often allow them to be a kid. When we can incorporate those components of ‘Hey, here’s the opportunity to be a kid—now, what can we learn from this?’—it’s incredible seeing those connections and helping them understand there is hope. There is nothing worse than seeing a kid with no hope.”

“Many times while growing up, through my adulthood and even now, I heard that that all it takes sometimes is just one adult,” Matthew says. “Just one caring adult. It can make a world of difference. And we have an entire organization of adults willing to put that best foot forward. For me to be able to help these kids with that rapport—I can’t think of a better feeling.”