By: Kate Meadows
Photos: Bailey Sadowsky
When Madison Koczersut packed her car last June and pointed it toward South Dakota, she wasn’t entirely sure what she was getting into. Growing up in Bradenton, Florida, a coastal town south of Tampa, the Black Hills felt like a place from storybooks.
While in college near Nashville, Tennessee, she had met a boy who grew up in Rapid City, Ian Krump. She recalls thinking, “Rapid City … is that a real place?” the first time she heard the name. She couldn’t have pointed to it on a map.
Now it was summer, and she was a young college graduate with a master’s degree in clinical mental health. She was dating Krump, and there was a job waiting for her in western South Dakota.
Koczersut is a clinical therapist with Lutheran Social Services on Sheridan Lake Road, serving at-risk youth and their families. Much of her work centers on family counseling, though she also facilitates group sessions addressing moral reasoning, skill building, and anger control. Some clients come by court order; others show up by choice, often through word of mouth. Either way, Koczersut schedules about ten sessions a week.
She always knew she wanted to help people. Prior to pursuing a mental health degree, she thought she’d end up in a field tied to physical health. She played college softball and was well aware of the value of healthy physical movement, but college and experiences beyond her “by-the-beach” upbringing shifted her focus. “I wanted to take care of my own mental health,” she said, “and I wanted to help others with theirs.”
Koczersut’s start at Lutheran Social Services came through Krump’s mother, who knew the organization and encouraged Koczersut to apply. What sealed the deal was the team itself.
“Everyone is so supportive, which is hard to find in a workplace,” Koczersut said. “My supervisor is there for everyone.”
Koczersut’s job is heavily centered on family therapy. She also hosts anger regression training for groups of at-risk youth.
The work can feel heavy at times. That’s where self-care becomes essential, Koczersut says. But even on the hardest days, the work feels meaningful.
“My favorite part of the job is getting to know the families — understanding where they come from and putting their story in context,” she said. “It’s a reality check. Not everyone comes from the same place or grows up with the same things.”
Watching families make progress, even small shifts in communication or conflict resolution, keeps her grounded.
For someone who grew up just steps from the water — “I was just a beach girl; I went to the beach all the time,” she said, trading ocean views for granite spires took some adjusting. Yet she and Krump, who attended St. Thomas More and works as a tech in Monument Health’s emergency department, were soon hiking Black Elk Peak and exploring the Black Hills’ lake shores. Pactola, she’ll tell you, has become her favorite local retreat. She and Krump share a German Shorthaired Pointer, a bundle of high-octane energy that keeps the couple outside and active.
Long-term, Koczersut is open to wherever life leads. She still misses the beach. Rapid City offers a view entirely different from the view she grew up with. But, she said, “The mountains are a different type of pretty.” Rapid City offers a pace, a landscape, and a community that feel right.
In the Black Hills, it’s a way of life she’s happy to grow into.
Original Article available in the January edition of Elevate Magazine
