Every Tuesday and Thursday afternoon, before beginning her
marriage and Christian vocation class, Susie Chenot leans over her
podium, peers into the eyes of her twenty-something students and
asks, “Does anyone have anything on their minds?”

The class quickly quiets down, students tuck away their planners
and scan the room for that brave individual who will launch the
discussion.

Chenot persists.

“No one has anything to say? Your minds are blank?”

And then the girl in the third row, fourth seat raises her
hand.

“I went to a wedding this weekend where the mother of the bride
was trying to run the entire event. It was nuts!”

The class erupts in laughter, Chenot attempts to restore order,
and the second hand goes up.

Fourth row. Second seat.

“My mom told me that I’ve got to find a girlfriend. She said I
can’t live with her and my dad forever,” the ball- cap-wearing
junior explains.

“Do you want to live with your mom forever?” Chenot asks.

The bashful boy immediately responds. “Are you kidding?”

“I want my classroom to be a safe place where students can say
what they want,’ Chenot said.

According to junior Aaron Morrow, Chenot fosters the environment
she seeks to create.

“I appreciate that her class is not a formal lecture but an open
forum where everyone’s opinion is valued,” he said.

Fellow classmate Theresa Chalhoub shares in Morrow’s sentiments.
“She makes sure everyone expresses their feelings on a variety of
subjects, so that a diversity of opinions exists,” Chalhoub
said.

Chenot adheres to an open-door policity, a philosophy that makes
this 56-year-old professor an advice-giver to students on a
multitude of issues.

Almost every day, she receives a telephone call, email or
in-person visit from someone wanting to discuss relationships,
personal crises or family issues.

“This is not so much a job as it is a ministry,” she said.

Chenot came to SLU in 1991 hoping to complete her Ph.D. in
historical theology. In the midst of her studies she was asked to
teach a class. Chenot was less than thrilled about the
proposition.

Fortunately, she cast aside her doubts and agreed to give the
teaching thing a shot.

“I walked into my first class, walked out and said, ‘Wow, this
is great,'” she recalls.

Previously unfamiliar with the education professions, Chenot
served as the vice president for loss prevention at Famous-Barr.
She oversaw and monitored security, safety and embezzling.

A hands-on administrator, Chenot spent the majority of her time
arresting shoplifters.

“I was a natural at catching crooks,” she said.

Aside from nabbing the criminals and keeping the operation
running smoothly, Chenot accomplished something else during her
career at Famous: She met her husband.

Nineteen years after they were married, Chenot lost him to
cancer. She suffered terribly, but had hope for the future.

“I had absolute conviction that it was possible for life to be
good again,” she said.

Having experienced almost two decades of a happy marriage,
Chenot felt it was beneficial to educate others about what went
into a successful relationship.

“I want my students to make good marriages…a happy marriage is
the best gift there is,” she said.

Chenot says it’s the students that keep her coming back year
after year.

“I very much enjoy the possibility and hope that students
represent,” she said.

Chenot imparts wisdom to her students that, she said, educators
often overlooked when teaching her.

“I want students to know that they’re perfectly OK where they
are. I want them to listen to their own true voices,” she said.

Chenot’s students not only see her as an educator, but more
importantly, a confidant and friend. Her honesty regarding
sensitive subjects is a welcome relief to her students.

“She’s not afraid to use examples from her own life to help your
relate to the topic she is teaching. She’s extremely down to earth
and approachable,” Morrow said.