After 16 Years with Emmanuel, Usovicz Still Enthusiastic About ECAP
April 30, 2007
There was something about teaching in the Emmanuel College Advancement Program (ECAP) that just agreed with Adjunct Professor Mary Usovicz and her teaching style. As she described it, it was just “a very good marriage.”
Back in 1991 when ECAP had just been formed, Usovicz was teaching at Salem State when she saw an advertisement for adjunct professor openings in the College’s new accelerated adult education program. A revolutionary concept at the time, Usovicz was immediately intrigued by the sound of the program and decided to apply in hopes of joining Emmanuel as an ECAP facilitator.
During the interview process, Usovicz was asked to set up a classroom situation to allow her interviewers to experience her teaching style directly. Her instinctive hands-on, interactive approach to education immediately struck a cord.
“I was told it was exactly what they were looking for,” said Usovicz. “It was just the natural way I taught and developed my classroom. ECAP has allowed me to teach the way I have always thought adult learners should be taught. They have real-life experiences and you need to find a way to relate their experiences into the classroom.”
In a more traditional-styled program, Usovicz admits she often felt limited in her ability to create a fully interactive environment. Hoping to move away from the “one dimensional” feeling she got from teaching such classes, she was excited about the challenge ECAP could provide in terms of finding ways to maintain students’ attention over the longer weekly class meetings.
“With four hours you can accomplish more,” she said. “I feel that people learn more and retain more and we’re not restricted by time constraints.
“But you have to find ways to keep it exciting,” she added. “You can’t just get up there and lecture until 10 p.m. after students have been working all day. It’s not just anybody that can do this type of facilitator work.”
As one of the original adjunct professors in ECAP, Usovicz has not only had the privilege of seeing the program grow from the ground up, she herself has provided the water to help it grow. Having implemented and designed a number of class modules throughout the years, on top of assisting in the hiring of the program’s professors, Usovicz has played a key role in ECAP’s entire 16-year existence. While she has seen some changes within the program during her time at the College, one thing that has remained unvarying for her has been her appreciation for the program.
“Emmanuel does a tremendous service to these individuals,” said Usovicz. “With traditional programs, it could take a student five years to complete a degree, and to think of investing that sort of time can be overwhelming. Emmanuel allows students to get something they really deserve in a more reasonable amount of time.
“I have a tremendous investment in seeing these adult learners achieve their goals,” she added. “I have found that 99% of the people that come to Emmanuel are talented people with a lot of knowledge that just haven’t been able to advance because they don’t have that degree. Everyone who I have taught has been able to advance once they got over that hurdle. I love to do anything I can to help these students.”