Four Paws, One Bright Future

After completing high school in New York at Buffalo Seminary, Rosie enrolled at Duquesne and earned bachelor’s degrees in psychology and theology. During that time, she worked at a dog boarding facility and as a caretaker at Transitional Options, a social service agency serving adults with intellectual developmental disabilities and autism.
 
Rosie assisted clients with meal preparation, companionship and other daily tasks. Her psychology and theology studies came in handy as she applied classroom learning to the sensitive situations she encountered at work. 
 
“A lot of people get confused thinking about theology because it’s not solely based on religion,” said Rosie. “It's more about being a good person, seeing different perspectives and seeing things in a different light. I was already an empathetic person, but theology really teaches you how to empathize with other people’s situations, even if they don’t affect you.” 

Prepared for anything 

With bachelor’s degrees in hand, Rosie began to consider what was next. Inspired by her time at Transitional Options and the dog boarding facility, Rosie set her goals high and developed a plan to open a service dog training facility—specifically training dogs that could work with individuals with mental health conditions like schizophrenia and post-traumatic stress disorder. 
 
“Witnessing the struggle for some people, they deserve to have the type of accessibility that service dogs can provide,” said Rosie. 
 
Armed with compassion, empathy and a tentative roadmap, Rosie felt like the only thing missing was business acumen. Her love for Pittsburgh coupled with her positive undergraduate experience made Duquesne the obvious choice for graduate school. 
 
Staci Offutt, director of the Center for Excellence in Entrepreneurship, was instrumental in guiding Rosie to the right program. 
 
“I wasn't really sure what the options were because I had no background in business,” said Rosie. “I was looking for a program that would build leadership experience since I want to become a really good CEO for my future company, as well as learn about business and marketing.”
 
Staci guided Rosie to the Palumbo-Donahue School of Business’ new master’s in entrepreneurial leadership program where she could gain professional confidence and impressive experience while connecting all of her fields of study.
 
“You can come from any part of the world and feel like you’re home at Duquesne. The professors are amazing and want you to succeed,” said Rosie. “They’re here to help you, not just come to work.”

A horizon-expanding education 

After four years of writing lengthy research papers for her undergraduate classes, Rosie found it satisfying and challenging to shift toward a more concise style of writing as she developed business pitches and marketing strategies, all under the mentorship of faculty who walked alongside her and who remain in her corner.
 
“I really dove into my classes, even though it was a learning curve,” said Rosie. “I was able to take a bunch of stuff I learned for my classes and use it for my own website. I know I can reach back out to the professor to get his advice about what I’m doing.”
 
Rosie is taking intentional steps to build her business and a better community. She’s working as a customer care specialist at a dog boarding facility—a job that has allowed her to build teamwork and advocacy skills—while she pursues her dog-training certification. Service dog training certification is next. 
 
“To start, I’ll create an online service for dog training to gain rapport in the community,” said Rosie. “I  want to connect with police stations to learn more about the canine units and different types of training so I can serve them in the future. I also want to do a lot of outreach visiting prisons, schools, mental health facilities and veteran facilities because that’s where the need is.”
 
Rosie is enthusiastic about her future and the bold goals she’s set. Within the next few years, she hopes to open her service dog training facility and employ other trainers.
 
“I feel like I hit the triangle with psychology, theology and entrepreneurial leadership,” she said. “I have all the right tools to continue my career.”