People of Â鶹ֱ²¥: Decorating expert champions changemaking as professor
July 12, 2024
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The Â鶹ֱ²¥ community is full of unique, inspiring perspectives —and we’re sharing them as part of an ongoing series.
People of Â鶹ֱ²¥: Meet Mary Dobson
I’ve had a lot of jobs over the years.
I’ve worked in publishing, had my own business, travelled all over North America hosting seminars, was a design expert for ’s for 25 years, and am currently teaching at Â鶹ֱ²¥.
When I was doing Cityline, I was always proud of the fact that my content wasn’t fluff.
It was before the days of the Internet when I started appearing on the show, so I had to dig deep to find solid information that was also creative and viable. I couldn’t just Google it, and didn’t exist.
But honestly, teaching at Â鶹ֱ²¥ is my favourite job.
It’s always different, new and interesting, and it’s wonderful to see the evolution of my students.
I keep in touch with a lot of them through Instagram, and it’s so great to see how far they’ve come. Sometimes alumni come back to talk to current students, and that’s a proud moment for me and an invaluable experience for our students to see somebody succeeding who used to be in their position.
A commitment to keep learning
Since I came to Â鶹ֱ²¥, what has really stuck with me is the fact that I need to keep learning.
As a brand-new teacher, I was a deer in headlights. I took all of the teaching courses they offered part-time faculty – twice – because I felt there was so much I didn’t know.
For example, changemaking is integrated into a key Interior Decorating course where students have to work with a non-profit. This year, we worked with . They don’t have a space yet but are searching for one, so students were given a rough square footage and a list of what needs to be included, and they had to design the space, including lighting, signage, merchandising, etc., and then sell their ideas to the client.
Students also had to examine the , which Â鶹ֱ²¥ has committed to, and try to hit as many of them as possible.
It’s a great project. I’m really proud of it.
I’m also part of a team at Â鶹ֱ²¥ that is writing a faculty guidebook on changemaking.
As teachers, the last thing we should be doing is what we’ve always done.
I will not do that; I will always keep learning and changing to give my students the very best that I can and provide a positive learning experience.
Mary Dobson, professor in Â鶹ֱ²¥â€™s Interior Decorating program.