All of my life, even when I was a young boy, people would bring their issues to me. Now I’m starting to feel like I know how to help.

He has opened for The Temptations, performed on Broadway, worked at the American Bible Society, built a successful career in advertising, and opened a pediatric care office with his wife…What has Vincent Poole not done? Pursuing a graduate degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling is not just another feather in his cap, however. It is a direct and purposeful complement to his work as a Practice Manager. Vincent and his wife, a pediatrician, long to offer a full slate of Christian-oriented services to children and adolescents, without having to refer out to other professionals. After graduation from Richmont, Vincent will be able to do just that. He is in his final year of working toward the Master of Arts in Clinical Mental Health Counseling with a certificate in Child and Adolescent Therapy.

“I love kids,” Vincent enthuses. “They aren’t jaded with life, you get to see results quickly, and mostly they just need help getting back on the right track.” Vincent’s heart for children is rooted in his desire to guide and support them, especially if their home environment is less than ideal. He takes a systemic approach in the clinical setting, considering the entire family in the context of his work with the child. “Richmont has really shown me how to do that,” he says. “All of my life, even when I was a young boy, people would bring their issues to me. Now I’m starting to feel like I know how to help.”

Growing up in New Jersey, the youngest of three siblings, Vincent has always hated it when people were hurting: “It really bothers me, really gets to me.” But God has used this sensitivity toward others in amazing ways, even outside the counseling office. “I can be in the grocery store and notice right away that the cashier is having a bad day. I’ll encourage her, and it often will cause her to break down right there at work, hearing that God knows where she is. People need each other. People need God.”

At the intersection between Vincent’s God-given gifts and the calling he senses on his life is Richmont. He considers the internship opportunities, the professors, the community life, and the deep focus on Christ to be the perfect environment in which to become a therapist. “I feel like I’m much better prepared than the other students at my outplacement. Richmont has prepared me in incredible ways. My professors have shown me how to put together the little bit I offer with the crazy stuff God has worked out in my life.” As Vincent looks forward to the next stages of his career, he maintains a grateful heart for the work of the Holy Spirit in his life. “God is just good, you know? God is just good.”