Alumni Awards

Distinguished Service Award

Thomas Button '79 | 2024 Award Recipient

Tom Button has spent his career making a positive impact in nursing and infection prevention. He graduated from Mount Mercy with a nursing degree in 1979 and worked in both pediatric and adult nursing in Miami, Dallas, Atlanta, and Kansas City. In 2003, he accepted a position as Director of Infection Prevention & Control in McKinney, Texas, where he oversaw his health care system’s compliance with governmental infection prevention standards. He accepted several similar roles, including Corporate Director Infection Prevention & Control with Truman Medical Center in Kansas City in 2012. 

In 2014, Tom answered a call for help from the World Health Organization and spent a month in Sierre Leone in West Africa helping a hospital control an Ebola outbreak. During the COVID-19 pandemic, he was pulled out of retirement to assist with implementing infection prevention practices at hospitals in California, Texas, and Florida, educating staff for a week or two at a time, despite the risks to his own personal safety. 

Although retired, Tom is still called upon to do consulting work in infection prevention. 

Professional Achievement Award

Molly (Mescher) Newhouse '96 | Award Recipient

Molly serves as VP Patient Care Services and Chief Nursing Officer at Mercy Medical Center in Cedar Rapids. When she graduated from Mount Mercy University with a nursing degree in 1996, she was already working at UnityPoint Health-St. Luke’s Hospital in Cedar Rapids, spending time as a tech and a nurse in the ICU and other departments.  

Molly moved to Mercy Medical Center as a staff nurse in 2005, and soon began receiving leadership opportunities. She was Clinical Manager of the Post Anesthesia Care Unit (PACU) followed by Nurse Manager of the operating room, where she helped develop the hospital’s first open heart program. She also became Director of Surgical Services, where she oversaw all surgery plus central sterile, helping to develop the surgical ICU. She was promoted to Executive Director for her role in helping to build the Hiawatha Surgery Center—a freestanding ambulatory surgery center. 

As VP of Patient Care Services she oversees all surgical services, acute inpatient, post-acute, and behavioral health services. 

Misericordiae Award

Michele Squires ’02 | 2024 Award Recipient

Michele Squires serves as Chief Clinical Officer at First Step Recovery Centers in Memphis, Tennessee, which provides free services for individuals with addiction and co-occurring disorders. Michele oversees clinical services and helps train and develop new counselors. 

Michele graduated from Mount Mercy University with a degree in criminal justice in 2002, leading to a number of opportunities working in treatment and rehabilitation for both nonprofit and for-profit organizations. Upon graduating, she worked as a Halfway House Counselor for Heart of Iowa in Cedar Rapids, simultaneously earning a master’s degree (remotely) in criminal justice from the University of Cincinnati. She then moved to Memphis with her family where her work has included time as Treatment Supervisor at a community corrections program, Program Director at a behavioral hospital, Adjunct Professor at Memphis Theological Seminary with a focus on developing addiction-centered counseling curriculum, Clinical Director at an addiction treatment center, and Executive Director of Chemical Dependency for a multi-hospital healthcare organization. 

Michele was recognized with the Mount Mercy Criminal Justice Award for Community Corrections in 2002. In addition, she won the Professional of the Year Award for the Tennessee Association of Alcohol and Drug Abuse Counselors (TAADAC) in 2015 and the Professional of the Year Award for the West Tennessee Association of Alcohol and Drug Abuse Counselors (West TAADAC) in 2020. 

Michele has worked with First Stop Recovery Centers since 2019. 

Merit Award

 Emma Lantz ’22 | 2024 Award Recipient

As Student Government Association President, Emma Lantz presided as a student leader during the tumultuous year of 2020, which included the COVID-19 pandemic, a derecho storm, and national unrest surrounding the death of George Floyd. Emma displayed leadership by listening to the needs of students and advocating for student engagement, traits that continued to be priorities for her in her post-Mount Mercy career. 

Emma majored in criminal justice and psychology when she graduated in 2022. She was hired as a Program Coordinator for Student Engagement at Illinois College in Springfield, Illinois, before later transitioning to Assistant Director for Student Engagement, where she helped students get involved with various activities on campus. In May of 2024, Emma accepted a new position as a graduate assistant at the Center for Public Service and Leadership, helping to research proposed bills and legislation for the Illinois legislature, while at the same time, pursuing a master’s degree in public policy at the University of Illinois Springfield.