A legacy of learning and leadership: reflections on 32 years at Mount Royal University

In 1992, the 25th Olympic Games opened in Barcelona, Bill Clinton was elected as President of the United States and Billy Ray Cyrus’ “Achy Breaky Heart” was nominated for a Grammy Award. 

In February of that year, Judy McMillan-Evans was working with the Federal Business Development Bank, supporting women entrepreneurs and instructing a number of business development courses. Mount Royal College - which became Mount Royal University in 2009 - was taking steps into building out what is now its comprehensive continuing education offerings in business and entrepreneurship. The bank and the college were collaborating to deliver some training, including a weekend course about operating a home-based business. The college reached out to McMillan-Evans asking her to teach the course and, like a true entrepreneur, she took an opportunity and made the most of it.

What followed, she says, was “a journey of exhilaration” that she was proud to embark on with Mount Royal and will look back on fondly when she retires at the end of 2024. “How that 32 years went by so fast,” she says, “I have absolutely no idea.”

After three decades of guiding her students through both teaching them and learning from them, McMillan-Evans says she is retiring with invaluable connections, lessons in business and pride in a career that made a difference.

Knowledge exchange, collaboration key to building foundational skills for success

McMillan-Evans is well-versed in Mount Royal’s programs, as she was not only an instructor but a student herself. She has completed certificates in both adult education and group facilitation which, along with her master’s degree in education, proved to be a particularly relevant combination of skills and expertise for teaching continuing education students.

“To be an effective adult educator, you have to be humble, but you also have to remember that you will learn as much as your students will,” she explains. 

“Their wisdom and their experiences are always diverse, so I really believed that the driver behind teaching adults is having fun. Learning should be 50% information and 50% entertainment! If adults can have fun, they will engage and they will apply the knowledge and they will talk about it…and that's what solidifies the information in our brains. That's my belief. So I call myself a facilitator, not an educator. I'm there to facilitate the exploration of information and new knowledge.”

In her personal experience, McMillan-Evans found strong benefit in taking and teaching courses geared toward strategic management and leadership, particularly lessons in learning how to plan for success.

“One of the most powerful learning processes I ever did as an entrepreneur, as an educator, as a community developer, as a project manager and all the different things that I do was learning about strategic planning,” she explains. “When I started to explore it and learn it, I realized that it had to do not with just what I did for a living but how I live a life. It's a huge mind shift to being really goal oriented.”

Mount Royal continuing education programs offer transformational opportunities

For those considering taking the leap into entrepreneurship, the nonprofit sector, or even building up their skills in a new or existing career, McMillan-Evans attests that the strength of Mount Royal’s continuing education programs is their relevance. “They’re powerful. They’re career-changing. You can build and create a career for less than a couple thousand dollars with a certificate program,” she explains. “That’s what I call shifting from chasing someone else’s bus to driving your own bus. 

Continuing education at MRU is built for those who are self-motivated, self-driven and are willing to work at building their knowledge base so they can take hold of their career and make it what they want it to be.”

For those comfortable with taking charge and taking the risks inherent in business,  McMillan-Evans explains, the success of an individual or team in business comes down to the strength of their strategic plan and their willingness to hash through the good, the bad and the ugly. 

With instructors who are working in the fields they teach, Mount Royal learners benefit from the experiences of their educators as well as those of their fellow students.

“Learning to be an entrepreneur by trial and error is a long, expensive journey,” Mc-Millan Evans says. “If you can learn from someone else's mistakes, then that can save a lot of stress and time and energy and money. That’s why, in my teaching, I try to facilitate dialogue and I share a lot of the errors I made. I've been self-employed for 53 years, so I have made every mistake in the book. What I've often told the students is that I don't know the right answers, but I know some of the wrong answers and I will share those with you. Somewhere in there, you'll find the right one. Life is trial and error, especially in business.”

Now looking forward to pursuing other passions in retirement, McMillan-Evans plans to keep busy with her community work. She serves as the president of the High River Garden Society and volunteers as a board member at Narrow Road Home, a women’s addiction treatment and recovery home, where she works with the women on financial management and life management strategies. 

Her perspective on the importance of lifelong learning and a fulfilling career is symbiotic with her time with Mount Royal.

“It all comes down to curiosity. I’m still learning every day. If you keep learning, you keep growing…and if you keep growing, you always find excitement and adventure.

To me, those classrooms of people were a collection of curiosity. It allowed me to contribute my own questions to explore and I never walked out of a classroom without learning something…and hopefully without leaving something there. It was a coming together of collective knowledge and ideas, and I got paid to do that. How good could it get?”

Courses for the Winter 2025 term are now open for registration. Visit the Faculty of Continuing Education website to discover what we have to offer.