I am blessed to be able to help others be better agents of change. . . .
        --Ross Patton, Class of 2003

Ever since he left southern Minnesota for Los Angeles, Ross Patton wanted to write the great American novel, and then be a film director with a place on the lake in Minnesota.

The story came out almost as planned.

Today, Patton is the Director of Treatment Services at New Beginnings, a lakeshore residential adult treatment facility in Waverly, Minnesota. Patton, who received his Master's Degree in 2003 from the Graduate School of Addiction Studies, was one of just four students in the program. He recalls the instructors telling them, "One day, you will be the managers of treatment programs."

The statement was accurate. Within weeks after graduation Ross set up an adolescent treatment program in Prior Lake, Minnesota. The next year, he tripled the space, clientele, and staff at an adult treatment facility in Waconia, Minnesota. And in 2005 he was hired at New Beginnings. In each position, Patton felt a "respectability and validity" as a result of his Master's degree.

New Beginnings is a 60-bed facility that was converted from the summer estate of Hubert H. Humphrey, former U.S. Vice President. Patton supervises six counselors, oversees an internship program, and is a counselor in the Family Program. He revamped the exit surveys and found that family members were leaving with a greater understanding of the addiction and recovery process. "I love passing on information and guiding people," says Patton. "My mantra is ‘I live to serve.'"

Ross became sober in Los Angeles in 1983 and returned in 1995 to Minnesota, where he spent three years temping for insurance agencies. When his wife Jann suggested the Hazelden Masters Program, his response was "No way!" But Jann's encouragement, support and their prayers all resulted in a different outcome. Patton applied, was accepted, and received a full scholarship.

Having been away from school for 32 years, Patton's experience was exhilarating and often exhausting. "Many nights I'd be nodding off with my nose in a book and a highlighter in my hand," he recalls. As a writer, Patton was drawn to Hazelden's publishing expertise, as well as its legacy of research. "Hazelden put the scientific measurable piece in place for me that had never been there before," he explains.

Today, Patton describes himself as one of the school's most grateful graduates. He says, "We are told we are agents of change. I am blessed to be able to help others be better agents of change.

"I can't say thank you enough to Hazelden."