MARCIE BURGER
College of Humanities and Social Sciences
Title: Online Full Time Faculty
Years at GCU: 7.5 years as Online FTF, one year prior as adjunct online faculty.
Academic degrees: Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from Boston University. Master’s degree in Counseling from University of Phoenix. I have been a licensed professional counselor in Arizona for 20 years. In addition, I am currently two classes shy of a second master’s degree from GCU in Technology Integration in the K-12 classroom. I hope to complete this by April.
Notable employment in your field: Having lived in Phoenix for almost 30 years, I have a wealth of experience and information regarding mental health treatment and local providers. I have counseled a wide range of people, including those dealing with mental illness or on probation for substance use and domestic violence. I would say my specialty areas are working with women’s issues and grief. I also worked for the county HMO, Value Options, providing triage and referrals to vulnerable populations in Maricopa County.
What are you most passionate about in your field? My background in counseling stems from a fundamental desire to leave the world better than I found it. There are so many ills in our communities and society. My goal is always to help somebody be more balanced, self-confident and independent. Identifying areas of conflict and offering a few good tools often creates the necessary changes for a better life.
What aspect of your teaching style is the most distinctive and/or memorable? My students often comment that I have high expectations but am fair. I aim to make the online classroom feel as much like a traditional classroom as possible. I know my online students are busy juggling many responsibilities, so each post/comment/feedback is designed for them to learn something useful and meaningful.
What do you like to do for fun in your spare time? I have a few hobbies. I’m an avid hiker in the Phoenix mountain preserve with my rescue pups, Gus and Lexi. I also enjoy local live music and schedule traveling to see a good concert with East Coast friends. Past trips included a concert at the Grand Old Opry in Nashville and the Broadway play "Beautiful" in New York. I also like watching and playing basketball.
What is something interesting about you that most people don't know? While living in Boston in the '80s, I worked for a high-end stereo store named Tweeter, etc. They sold home and car audio, surround sound, speakers, camcorders and the first cellphone. It was a lot of fun, and I believe my desire to teach online comes from a natural affinity for technology. My claim to fame there was selling a Sony Walkman to Robert Parish of the Boston Celtics and a "boombox" to Michael J. Fox.
