KENTVILLE, N.S. — Michelle Mosher says she won’t change the way she works after being appointed to the Order of Merit of the Police Forces since it’s what led to the recognition in the first place.
Mosher is originally from Coldbrook and joined the RCMP after graduating from Acadia University.
She’s now an RCMP corporal in Grande Prairie, Alta., where she works at the Caribou Child and Youth Centre within the K Division Serious Crimes Branch and specializes in child sexual and physical abuse investigations, conducting child forensic interviews for police investigations.
Having served for just under 10 years, Mosher says her work being recognized this early in her career has only increased her zeal to continue advocating for children.
“I want to make sure that I will always try to live and work up to the level that the appointment deserves and represents. …I feel extremely fortunate to be a part of it,” she says.
The Order of Merit makes appointments based on a combination of factors, including officers who demonstrate the “highest qualities of citizenship, service to Canada, to policing and to humanity.”
Mosher says she thought someone was playing a joke on her when she returned from vacation in August 2018 to an envelope placed on her desk that read "Michelle Mosher, M.O.M.’"until she remembered a fellow RCMP officer used the same initials following her own name.
But she opened the letter and found it was from the Governor General’s office in Ottawa, and that it explained she’d been appointed to the order, and what that meant. Mosher describes the feeling that followed opening her letter as one of total shock.
“I didn’t want to show it to anyone because I wasn’t exactly sure what to say,” she says.
Mosher attended the Jan. 30 ceremony at Rideau Hall in Ottawa with several family members, including her son, and her fellow recipients.
As she looked around at the group of high-ranking police officers that included British Columbia deputy commissioner Brenda Butterworth-Carr, she felt even more honoured to be among those recognized.
“Julie Payette was very friendly and personable and took a moment to say that she was honoured to meet me. It was an incredible experience,” she says.
This appointment is not the only recognition Mosher has received as of late - she’s also been nominated for the International Association of Chiefs of Police Top 40 Under 40.
Mosher has also applied to study and earn her master’s degree in leadership and intends to keep challenging herself to increase the number of people she’s able to advocate for.
“I always raise the bar a little higher, so that's what I’ll continue to do,” she says.
