Thurston Smith ’95 Recognized for a Lifetime of Service Alumni Profile

Since completing the Addiction Studies program at Graceland in the late 1990s, THURSTON S. SMITH, MPA, LAC-S, CCS, has had an eventful life and career, which was recently recognized through a series of awards and public service citations.

“For me, it all began in South Carolina,” Smith said, before going on to detail his extensive work for the federal government, military service, academic studies, and career in the counseling field. Smith spent over 20 years working for Veterans Health Administration (VA) in many different mental health, administrative, and leadership roles before retiring in 2018. His career in federal service also included employment for Court Services and Offender Supervision Agency (CSOSA) in Washington, D.C.

Smith has over 25 years of experience in the behavioral health counseling profession, with specialties in substance abuse, mental health, training, and public policy. Near the beginning of his career, he joined NAADAC, the Association for Addiction Professionals, which led him to join Graceland’s Addiction Studies program. “Graceland was one of the few academic institutions at that time providing education in addiction counseling,” he remembers. “NAADAC was the predecessor to my admission to Graceland. I really enjoyed the professional networking that the program provided, and was thoroughly impressed by Graceland’s seasoned academic instructors, who were all current practitioners in the field.”