Welcoming Adria LaRose to MBS
Adria LaRose, Esq., joined the Maine Business School faculty in the fall of 2023. Originally from Missouri, Adria spent many years in San Francisco before moving to Maine.
What inspired you to become a professor?
I discovered I really enjoyed teaching! As a practicing attorney, one of my favorite parts of my job was counseling clients and helping them understand the sometimes impenetrable intricacies of the law. After giving a few presentations on legal issues to lay people and then teaching a seminar on psychology and the law, I was hooked!”
How did you get interested in your field of study?
The law impacts so many aspects of our lives, whether we are aware of it or not. I was drawn to law because, at its best, it attempts to apply fairness and logic to human problems.
What classes do you teach at UMaine?
I teach the Legal Environment of Law (MGT 220) and Alternative Dispute Resolution (MGT 335).
What’s an exercise in your classroom that students enjoy?
In my Alternative Dispute Resolution class, we do simulations that can reveal cognitive biases. In one simulation, I ask students to write down the last two digits of their social security number and then have them write down a bid on an imaginary product. What’s surprising and cool is that, on average, the amounts of students’ bids appears to be affected by the completely unrelated digits.
What are your expectations of your students?
I know that law can be a forbidding subject, and I try to make it accessible to my students. I hope they feel comfortable asking me questions when I don’t!
What do you enjoy doing outside of academia?
Reading, following pop culture, and taking long walks.
What advice do you wish you had as an undergraduate student?
Advice is great, but you have to learn to trust your gut.