After earning an associate degree in business from Henry Ford Community College and a bachelor’s degree, Gerard entered the world of ‘work’, working full-time and attending Wayne State University full-time in pursuit of an MBA in Finance.

Gerard’s corporate experiences working in auditing departments as a CPA training new hires and, even harkening back to his days working as a crew leader for Burger King where training was an important job function, helped him to discover that he really enjoyed the ‘teaching’ part of his jobs. Armed with that knowledge, he began to explore the possibility of teaching part-time while continuing to pursue his corporate career.

With the support and encouragement of his boss while working at a building trades association as CFO, and the suggestion by then Dean of Business and Technology, Fern Feenstra, that Gerard join the Accounting Advisory Committee at Schoolcraft in 1998, Gerard had his foot in the door.

It wasn’t very long before Gerard was offered the opportunity to teach part-time in the accounting department. Given the diversity of his own scholastic background and his professional experiences, when a full time position in the business department opened up, Gerard was the natural choice.

While Gerard is a much appreciated classroom teacher, he also has contributed to the tremendous success of students in both the accounting and business departments by helping to develop courses, including Business Ethics, a required course for all students pursuing an associate degree in business.

Gerard credits much of his success to his understanding of student’s situations and circumstances, given his personal experiences as a former community college student himself and as an adult balancing work and school at the same time.  He feels it is very important to create a classroom atmosphere that is inviting and welcoming.

“I believe that each class presents an opportunity for the student to have a transformational learning experience,” said Gerard. “Relating what I am teaching to real-world personal situations or current real-world business trends or current events helps students’ understanding. It’s important to take the theories taught in the classroom and demonstrate how they apply with practical examples.”