Jeremiah Moore has embraced an opportunity to change his life.

He is in his second semester as a student at Montcalm Community College. He was referred to MCC last year through the Academics Changes Everything (ACE) program. ACE is a partnership between Montcalm County 64B District Court and MCC that seeks to utilize education as a foundational building block for individuals placed under the court’s supervision.

“The program is built on the premise that education is valuable, it cannot be taken away, and can fundamentally change an individual’s future,” said 64B District Court Judge Adam Eggleston.

Moore joined the Marine Corps right out of high school, served on deployment in Afghanistan, and returned home to the Lakeview area in 2014.

“I started working dead-end jobs after that,” he said. “I got into some trouble, which introduced me to the court system. I developed a bit of a drinking problem. I was highly intoxicated one night, got into an altercation with my brother and ended up going to jail.”

Moore said that was the start of a new beginning for him.

“At my hearing, Judge Eggleston brought up the ACE program and offered it to me because I had recently finished school. I am a certified welder. He recommended that I do follow-up education and kind of take it somewhere. That’s currently what I’m doing,” Moore said.

With a 15-month-old daughter at home, Moore said he was ready to make a change in his life. As a veteran, he is utilizing his VA benefits as he attends classes full-time. He expects to graduate next year with an associate degree in Business Management.

“My goal is to continue on and build my own small business,” he said. “I would like to own my own mobile welding service.”

Moore said his brush with the court is exactly what he needed.

“I probably would not have gone back to college if I had not been referred through the court,” he said. “I just didn’t have the drive to do so. But, this gave me the opportunity to actually make it happen. Before, I was just losing ground from one dead end job to another.

“There are a ton of resources that have been offered during my whole situation here,” he said. “The ACE program is one of them. The college has a lot of resources, too.”

Moore said Rob Spohr, MCC Vice President for Academic Affairs and one of Moore’s instructors, as well as Counselor Tore Skogseth have contributed to his success.

“They have really helpful,” he said. “They have been supportive and have a lot of resources to support me.”