Amy Ross

Professor

“Anything you brainstorm and want to do, as long as you can back it up, you can do at SMC.”

Amy Ross is in her third year as full-time faculty at SMC. “I love what I’m doing and this is my best semester yet,” she says. “I’m teaching a class for the first time in addition to my counseling work. And I’m also involved in the high school outreach program. And that’s important because local students making plans for college can feel that they’ve got a direct contact person at SMC.”

The class Amy teaches is in basic study skills. “I’ve always wanted to teach, so this is great,” she says. “I got pushed into business as a corporate banking officer early in my life, so being in the classroom is just really exciting. And I can’t believe there’s such a demand to learn how to learn,” she continues. “But my class is really hungry for the materials we offer and they want to learn these new skills so badly.”

Being open and honest are the qualities Amy regards as essential to good counseling. “You have to develop a good rapport with students,” she says. “And because so many young people are intimidated about seeking counseling, you have to really make the effort to let them know you’re going to be there for them.”

Amy finds the SMC campus a landscape where good ideas grow quickly. “There aren’t too many places where I could do all I’m doing,” she says. “SMC is a place—in terms of new approaches—where anything goes.”

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