Submitted by Connie Psaros, RPR, CMRS

My Experience as a Student in the CMRS Program

When I first read about the CMRS program, it immediately piqued my interest. More to the point, it seemed to be calling my name! You see, I had recently become an office manager after a sixteen-year freelance court reporting career, and I found the transition to be challenging, to say the least. So when I discovered that the topics covered in the course description seemed uniquely suited to my new position, I decided to enroll in the program -- and I'm glad I did!

Without question, the strength of the program lies with the faculty, specifically John H. Lea and George H. Oliver who taught the majority of the course. I found them to be top-notch educators with superb communication skills. They addressed many areas during the two modules, such as management principles, human resource management, marketing and financial management, and in so doing, employed a variety of effective teaching techniques. Their informative lectures were supplemented with excellent videos, texts and handouts, revealing self-assessment exercises, and sometimes high-spirited group "breakout sessions," all of which served to maximize our understanding. Their teaching styles complemented each other's, and they both had the knack of telling amusing anecdotes that entertained us while driving their points home. I had heard only positive things about them from former students, and I'd like to take this opportunity to add my voice to those compliments.

The skills I learned in this program have helped me a great deal in my new position. First and foremost, it has helped me define my role as a manager more clearly, the benefit being I'm more comfortable sitting "up front" than I used to be. This alone has allowed me to better focus on the tasks at hand.

This program has challenged me to look at things in different ways and to question the status quo. I'm always looking for ways to increase efficiency, prioritize, get more out of limited resources, increase market share, and improve communications. It has heightened my awareness on many levels, which makes my job more interesting!

Where the program really came through for me is in the area of goal achievement. For example, I recently developed a system to monitor office supplies and equipment as a direct result of taking this course. I learned how to analyze this problem, explore appropriate alternatives to solve the problem, select the best solution, form concrete objectives, and follow them through to successful completion. These same principles can be applied to whatever my next goal should happen to be.

Kudos to NCRA for developing and offering such a relevant program. Judging by the interest it has generated, it's obvious there is a definite need for this type of curriculum. It is by far one of the most worthwhile endeavors I've ever participated in; and whether you're a freelancer, official, court administrator, instructor, school administrator, captioner, agency owner or office manager, I heartily recommend it to those of you who hear it calling your name.