Create, Inspire, Succeed — these words represent my teaching philosophy. I create a positive, supportive climate in my classroom. I inspire my students through instruction, interaction, practice, and class assignments/projects to gain knowledge/skills. My students succeed because they practically apply these skills in real-life situations in their professional and personal lives.
I am Maria Fotopoulos, an instructor in the College of Communication here at DePaul University. I teach Business and Professional Communication and Public Speaking on the Lincoln Park Campus.
It is my pleasure to be part of the prestigious DePaul team of faculty members because I believe that the education at DePaul University helps our resourceful students achieve success in their lives. I especially love teaching and helping students become knowledgeable and skillful in the particular class I teach, and I enjoy working with students to help them achieve their goals. I strive to impact people in a positive way through face-to-face (F2F) or online instruction.
I have degrees from Purdue University Calumet in Communication, specializing in Public Speaking & Coping with Speech Anxiety; Business, Managerial, & Organizational Comm; Interpersonal Comm & Human Relations; Small Group/Team Comm; Media, Gender, & Women’s Studies; and Training and Consulting. I have instructed in Higher Ed for over ten years and am currently instructing at the University of Illinois at Chicago and Indiana University Northwest. I have a degree in Business Administration and have worked in the banking industry for over 13 years.
I enjoy teaching face-to-face classes the most because they encompass the richest channel of communication; however, I also enjoy teaching online classes. I am knowledgeable in four online platforms--Blackboard, Canvas, OnCourse, and Moodle, and I had the unique pleasure of creating an online class in Business and Professional Communication a few years ago. I find the online forum to be a place where we can still create community where we can have a great “virtual” learning experience with students.