Additional Navigation
Therese Ross G'19
Within each of our Bay Path community members is an inspirational story of perseverance and strength, and we are honored to share them. This narrative originally appeared as part of Bay Path's #MyPath on social media.
"Not long after I graduated from college, I started in a social work master's program, and it wasn't right for me. So, I dropped out, but I always knew that I wanted to have a master's degree because people had always said, 'you'll get to do more if you have your master's.'
"For years, while my kids were growing up, my husband and I would go back and forth, and I'd be like, is now the time? And then, unfortunately, when he was quite ill and died, the time became evident.
"I had a background in education and worked with educational leaders to improve their communication with employees and staff. I wanted to study negotiation. We all negotiate all day long, and people need to be less afraid of it. I went through all the courses Bay Path offered, and every single one of the courses they offered was something that I wanted to know more about.
"The Master in Leadership and Negotiation was an online program, which was a learning curve for me. But by week three, I was like, 'oh, I got this.' I got all A's, which is not an experience I'd had since maybe my senior year in college. The content was a real motivator for me. I loved what I was learning.
"I think it's really important to get to know the professors you've got courses with and try to get to know as many different people as possible. In our small group projects, I had to put myself out there and say, 'I'm new. And I'm trying to figure this out. Who can help or who else is struggling with this?' Turns out, a lot of people struggle and it never hurts to reach out to someone.
"When I was getting my degree at Bay Path, I shifted out of education and into grief support [at Rick's Place, Inc. ]. We support grieving children, teens, and their families in Wilbraham. We also provide grief support programs in schools and do professional development for school staff. People are afraid of negotiation, and it's the same thing with grief and loss. I am now the Executive Director of Rick's Place, and I would not have been able to get that position if I didn't have this degree and the leadership I learned." - Therese Tee Ross #MyPath
Learn more about our MS in Leadership and Negotiation program