By Mary Roary, Ph.D.

I simply love teaching at the CUA Metropolitan School of Professional Studies (MSPS) because of its high standards and extreme center of excellence stance, faith-filled strategic direction, non-traditional collaborative/partnership approaches (to work across/abroad CUA) and collegiate rigor. MSPS is not afraid to take calculated risk to yield high return-of-investment (ROI) (i.e., adding out-of-state campuses to expand its student reach, creating other state-wide partnerships that take on under resourced populations educational needs to increase their survival for success). MSPS allows their faculty in an unlimited way to provide opportunity and to change lives so that the students can reach their highest potential to think through critical issues, real world issues, textbooks, evidenced-based practices, and research to solve problems, make informed judgments, and create knowledge that benefits their families, communities, the world, and themselves. 

MSPS is where the potential to be productive is unlimited for the students, staff, faculty, and the Deans. More specifically working at CUA MSPS allows me to give, receive, and thrive in a robust nurturing environment with the greatest potential to impact students for the rest of their lives.  The MSPS leadership, guidance, mentoring, and more importantly the intensive training and their patience is bar none. Both Deans are compassionate and have a high tolerance for learning and for ensuring that the students get what they came for, followed by staff and faculty needs.

This is great for me because it allows me in turn the freedom and flexibility to teach the students not only the course materials, but to also share what I am gleaning from MSPS leadership and other MSPS and CUA faculty coupled with my lived experienced, evidenced-based practices, research, and real-world applications.

I also enjoy working for MSPS because when I call the Deans they come to the rescue, all the way from giving advice on what to do at my day job to that of picking up my CUA ID badge. Additionally, the MSPS does so much to ensure that the students are successful by providing seminars, workshops, counseling, and job training as well as ensuring that staff and faculty come together at least quarterly to brainstorm student/staff/faculty challenges and to develop viable solutions in a non-judgmental environment which promotes growth and creativity. Here again these staff and faculty learning opportunities are passed on to our students. The other awesome thing about teaching at MSPS is the diversity of the students, they range from international to local, from young to old, from undergrad to grad, and to that of new to returning students-which all adds up to a rich experience for the students and for me.

Finally, I love working at MSPS because it gives me the ability to teach a range of courses that I have complimentary degrees in, hands-on work experience in, and lived experiences in. SO,

After a long hard day at work, I perk up because I know I have class tonight! My classes are bi-directional at its very core. On the first day of class, I call the student’s Doctor’s and most of them immediately respond that they are not doctors. I correct them and say there is a doctor inside of all of us and that no one knows us better than ourselves except for what we believe in. Finally, on the first day of class, I tell the students that if they are shy, that they may want to drop the course because the class is highly interactive, attendance is paramount, and that they should buckle up because I guarantee them that they have never taken a course like this before. This approach is not to discourage the students but to establish a set of realistic parameters and expectations that serves them well not only in my courses but with their other courses, public speaking, and helps to build and sustain their personal, educational, and professional relationships. We kick class off with an opening thought, discuss the scheduled syllabus topic which is led by the student where there are no wrong answers or inappropriate questions, we learn a new term every class, and then we wrap-up with closing thoughts whether I have five students or 20 students. You would think that the students would drop the course but to my chagrin they stay, and they take me on!

Where else can you teach like that, only at MSPS but the overall objective of our school is for students to learn to improve their lives personally, educationally, and professionally. Moreover, to go on and do impactful things at the individual, family, community, and worldwide levels and that they cannot fail because it’s bigger than them and that the world is depending on them.

On any given day, MSPS is pushing faculty to open doors to brighter futures. Bottom line, MSPS is producing ROI world game changers!!!

In summary, I am a CUA and MSPS die-hard fan and their biggest cheerleader because I get to learn and grow from faith-filled creative leaders who will not take no for an answer and I promise you that there is nothing more satisfying for me then to see the students walk across the stage to receive their Certificates, Associates, Bachelors, Masters, and hopefully someday an MSPS Doctorate. Moreover, to receive a student email or letter asking me to write a letter of recommendation so they can apply to a graduate program, a student informally called in my class a “doctor” now becomes a doctor!  WOW!

Mary Roary, Ph.D., M.B.A., is the Director, Office of Behavioral Health Equity, in the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.

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