Aaron Mertes

Dr. Aaron Mertes

Assistant Professor and Clinical Coordinator, Rehabilitation and Human Services, CHPS

Dr. Aaron Mertes has made a profound impact on his students, peers, and MSUB, and ensuring student success is central to his teaching philosophy.

Mertes started teaching online when he came to MSUB and immediately saw new opportunities to facilitate a successful online classroom experience. He creatively engages all students, both in-person and in virtual ways, and has been consistently praised by his students and colleagues for his teaching ability and dedication to his students.

Staying engaged and active in his field, Mertes is writing a book that is scheduled to be published this spring relating to alternative career paths of students in the counseling program. Mertes shares that there are real needs in the community for counselors who understand both physical and mental disabilities, but not all students have the foresight to see that far into their future career. His book is a resource for students to carry with them into all stages of their professional development.

Outside of MSUB, Mertes advocates for the state-wide mental health needs of Montana constituents. He is also one of the newest members of the counseling accreditation body that sets educational standards for rehabilitation counseling programs nationwide and is on a working committee that sets up and updates licensing policies for addiction counselors in the state of Montana. He also cares very deeply about having healthy relationships with his colleagues and friends.

One of Mertes’ favorite parts of teaching and scholarly work is to be a careful listener of the needs of both students and the communities he is in. When asked recently how he knows what he wants to teach, talk about, or study, he said, “I first must be a discerning listener to the needs of others. My work is in service to them, not based on what I think is good for them.” Mertes’ service to MSUB and impact on his students, peers and in his field make him a well-deserving recipient of the Winston & Helen Cox Fellowship Award.