Rush Medical College welcomes Therron (T. Jai) Rogers, PhD, LPCA as the new student support services manager for the Medical Student Affairs team. As an experienced college and career counselor with many years of working in guidance services in his back pocket, Rogers is a wonderful addition to the Rush University community.
As someone who considers himself to be a lifelong learner, Rogers understands how important receiving a quality education is to many medical students. Rogers completed a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with a concentration in Marketing and a Master of Education in Counseling and Personnel Services with a concentration in School Counseling at the University of Louisville. He continued counseling courses at Lindsey Wilson College which helped him meet the criteria to become a Licensed Professional Counseling Associate in the state of Kentucky. He received his PhD in Leadership in Higher Education from Bellarmine University last year.
“While I tell myself I’m done with school, I do get an itch every once in a while to go back for an MBA,” he said. “Only time will tell as to whether or not that will happen.”
As a manager of student support services, Rogers works to minimize the barriers medical students face as they progress through their medical school journey. Rogers works directly with first- and second-year students to ensure they receive adequate resources for academic support.
“When I think about the resources that were withheld from me as a student, I don’t want anyone else to feel like they were not given a fair shot at being successful,” he stated. “I want to make sure all students know they deserve to be here at Rush.”
Prior to counseling, Rogers worked as an assistant manager for a large grocery store chain. He oversaw over 200 employees and enjoyed helping people to recognize and work towards their full potential. The satisfaction this job brought him led him to the human services and education field.
“I have realized the thing that limits us the most is our mind,” said Rogers. “When we stop putting limits on ourselves, we take the first step in accomplishing our dreams.”
His goals as a student support services manager are to build on the resources that have been established in the medical student affairs office and to continue to serve students – both in and out of the classroom. He wants to make sure all students continue to feel a connection to Rush through its programming, regardless of what difficulties they may be facing in their personal lives outside of school.
As a mental health advocate, Rogers wants to ensure that steps are taken to support not only students, but faculty and staff through changes to instruction due to COVID-19.
“The assumption that all medical students have supportive communities can no longer exist as we are now seeing the need for mental health professionals to be available for students.”
In his spare time, Rogers enjoys playing with his two-year-old daughter and participating in competitive activities. He loves recreational sports and states that if it wasn’t for his height, he would have loved to fulfill his childhood dreams of becoming a professional athlete.
Rogers is excited to join Rush and become a part of a supportive and inclusive campus community.
“I am excited to be in a position to positively impact the next generation of physicians,” he said. “As a nationally recognized program, Rush places alumni across the United States and I am glad to be able to say I am a part of a growing institution with brand recognition.”