"I
didn't believe I was stuck, but I wanted to up the conversations that
I was having," she says. In addition, she knew that good managers
were crucial for employee retention and happiness, and she wanted to improve
her own skills.
Susan heard about Cambridge College through a family member. Though she hadn't completed her undergraduate degree, having taken time off to get married and start a family, she did have 2 ½ years of coursework under her belt, plus lots of on-the-job training, especially in finance and more recently, managing. With her credits and experience, she entered the Graduate Studies Prep Program (GSPP) in 1993, followed by the Masters Program in 1995.
"That's what makes Cambridge College so special-they respect that the learning you get in life when documented properly is equal to that which you get in school," she says.
Susan also looked at Boston University and Northeastern, but settled on Cambridge College, principally because of the college's philosophy that "we teach adults," as she puts it. For one thing, she was able to work toward her degree during summers, weekends, and nights, which was crucial "since I didn't want to be in school for my entire life," she says. "I'm married, 2 kids, I'm not going back and sitting at a small desks," she remembers thinking.
She especially appreciated the courses on project management-"nobody at work teaches you how to 'manage' a project," she says-as well as negotiation and conflict resolution. She also valued being able to take what she'd learned during her Pro Sem and apply it at work the very next day. "You're working while you're learning; it's real-time application," she says.
Receiving the degree helped put Susan on an even faster track at FleetBoston. For one thing, she was immediately promoted, and eventually became known for her skills as a turnaround artist. "The last three jobs I had were all leadership skills-to fix something that was broken, or to create something new from nothing," she says. She's currently the director of the Client Distribution Group, as well as a Senior Vice President, for FleetBoston Financial. Her group is responsible for the administration & distribution of $3.9 billion in assets annually.
On the faculty of an in-house FleetBoston course on diversity, Susan has also led 70 one-day workshops for employees over a five year period. "We don't teach, but we have a dialog," she says. "It never ceases to amaze me how shocked some people are that there are others who are still treated differently-whether they're people of color, older people, women or men. There is always someone I encounter who is hearing 'for the first time,' that discrimination still occurs and sometimes within themselves. The dialogue is constant and that's what moves the dial toward peace and understanding of others - at Cambridge College, you get that too."
Next: Albertha Merriman