For Lynessa Rico, Ph.D., chair of The Chicago School’s Business Psychology programs, the unique value of a Chicago School education lies in the university’s global outlook.
“Our communities today face truly global challenges, and so our students are the ones who will thrive in the workforce, because they learn to think globally,” Dr. Rico says. “I’m so grateful to work at an institution that invests so heavily in global initiatives and experiences for our students.”
In an example of this global perspective, Dr. Rico accompanied a group of her students on a study abroad trip to Amsterdam earlier this year. On this trip, students met with corporate leaders throughout the city to learn more about work-life culture in the Netherlands and how it differs from dynamics in the United States.
“In our meetings with corporate leaders throughout the city, our students saw how the theories we’ve discussed in class play out in the real world,” Dr. Rico says. “They see that their learning carries real value for leading organizations. It’s really rare for graduate students to have this type of international learning experience, and I’m so glad this is something that we champion at The Chicago School.”
While it may seem surprising to some to combine the fields of business and psychology, for Dr. Rico, this is a natural connection. “I come from a family of entrepreneurs,” she says. “I believe with my whole heart that businesses are living, breathing things. We need to take care of our organizations just like we’d take care of our own health to ensure that they can reach their full potential as catalysts for community growth and innovation.”
As a graduate within the first cohort of The Chicago School’s Ph.D. program in Business Psychology, Dr. Rico has seen the university’s Business Psychology programs evolve dramatically between her time as a student and today as chair, with the programs now enrolling more than 800 students.
Across this era of growth, Dr. Rico has held a core principle of career readiness as a constant, investing in alumni networking events, corporate field trips, and panels with business experts.
“As an academic leader, I know that the jobs our students are going to have one day don’t even necessarily exist yet,” Dr. Rico says. “We need to prepare them to be equipped for whatever comes their way, teaching them to be curious and creative so they can become the innovative business leaders of tomorrow.”