“I can say with confidence that the Dal MBA helped me progress in my career while I was a student, but it did something else – it helped me become a better teacher.”
Terry Lampropoulos MBA(FS) Class of 2019
Graduations signify passages and transitions, of moving forward and of accepting new ventures and challenges. Terry Lampropoulos crossed the stage in October 2019 to receive his degree, signifying the completion of a robust academic journey. In a virtual interview with CEGE Connection, Terry shared his insights on how his years of study influenced his direction going forward.
The feeling that I had when I graduated from Dalhousie with my MBA (FS) is something that was truly surreal. I felt happy, nostalgic, grateful, and, honestly, weird because I now had something known as “free time.” I reflected upon what I had learned during my journey to my MBA and I thought back to all the wonderful courses and professors who I had the privilege from which to learn. With a background in sciences, learning about topics like accounting, finance, marketing, and international business was a humbling but very worthwhile experience because I, like many of the alumni finishing MBAs, work in the banking industry. I can say with confidence that the Dal MBA helped me progress in my career while I was a student, but it did something else – it helped me become a better teacher.
In addition to working in the financial industry, I am also the Coordinator and Instructor at Seneca College in Toronto, Ontario for their Risk Management program. I started teaching at Seneca in January 2015, but it has become an absolute passion for me. Seeing my students complete their studies on a part-time basis (something I can definitely related too!) but also excel in the classroom and in their careers is something that brings me unbridled joy. My time as a teacher, however, did not start smoothly. I had just started my MBA studies when I started teaching and my style was, well, rudimentary. Considering all this, I realized that my time as an MBA student was going to give me insights on how to control a classroom, communicate with students using an online platform, build knowledge through discussion, and ensure that my students were engaged in, not only the theoretical material being taught in the textbooks, but also in the real world.
Seeing my professors navigate course material with case information was a dream. Observing the teaching styles of Dr. Carolan McLarney, Dr. James Barker, and Dr. Greg Hebb (I do not intend to miss names, so I apologize) showed me that being myself in a classroom was the easiest way to get students to engage. I would like to say that I know a thing-or-two about risk but listening to my students, the way my professors at Dal did, is something that cannot be forgotten. I felt that I developed a rapport with my professors while I went through my Dal journey and now I hope to do the same with my students. Every time I am in the classroom, I aim to inject knowledge, humor, but, most importantly, create connections. It is these connections that resonated with me at Dal and I hope to do the same with my students at Seneca.
CEGE Connection Archives: November 26, 2019