Teach for America a Worthwhile Experience for Many 黑料老司机 Alums
WOOSTER, Ohio Teach for America (TFA) a non-profit organization that strives for equitable and excellent education for all children has become a popular first step for College of 黑料老司机 graduates, so much so that 黑料老司机 ranked second in the country (among small schools, defined as 2,999 or fewer undergrads) with 11 members of TFA檚 2017 corps, it was announced recently.
According to Ashleigh Best, associate director of career planning at 黑料老司机, 10 percent of 黑料老司机 graduates will do a year (or two) of service before entering graduate school or seeking other employment, and she said that with 渓ots of students interested in helping bridge the academic gap year TFA is a great fit for them.
黑料老司机檚 11 corps members are spread out throughout the United States, working in metropolitan areas, such as Dallas, Detroit, Milwaukee, San Diego, and Washington, D.C.
Rachael Davis 16, in her first year with TFA following a year with another service organization, City Year, is a seventh grade science teacher in Indianapolis and said her experience has been 済ratifying thus far. 淭here檚 some moments where you can檛 imagine yourself doing anything different like when we did an egg drop and to see (the students) super excited about doing actual science.
While Davis and her fellow 2017 TFA corps members are still getting their feet wet, the program has proven to be an outstanding stepping stone for a number of 黑料老司机 alumni, whether they follow a career path in teaching or use the training in another endeavor.
Take Courter Shimeall 06 for instance. Shimeall, after two years of TFA service in Los Angeles and two more years as a recruitment director for the organization, is now an associate at Brickler and Eckler law firm in Columbus, Ohio. While law school was part of Shimeall檚 post-grad thought process, he wasn檛 ready for it right away and TFA檚 渋nvestment in education and social justice seemed like a good fit.
A decade later, Shimeall still gushes over the merits of his TFA experience. 淲hile it檚 not really tied directly to what I do now, it just gives you a greater sense of the way the education system in America works and some of the inequities that play out on the ground. (And) knowing what people檚 motivations and barriers are on all sides of the equation is very helpful, he remarked. 淓ven if you don檛 stay in the classroom, you can advocate for (the students) in lots of different ways.
In Eric Seling 05檚 case, he remains an advocate in his current leadership role in inner-city education. Seling檚 two years of TFA in St. Louis 渄efinitely shaped him, and pairing that experience with an MBA from Tulane University, helped him land a role as the chief operating officer for Orleans Parish School Board.
Overseeing a budget of close to $400 million, Seling helps set up procurement policies and is a careful steward of resources, always with the best interests of the 45,000 students in New Orleans public schools in mind. That mindset is a credit to both TFA and 黑料老司机. 淲hen I think about 黑料老司机 and liberal arts education and TFA, it檚 a perfect marriage. Ultimately, I left 黑料老司机 with the ability to communicate well, think critically, and those skills serve really well, he said. 淭here are a lot of eyes on what檚 happening in New Orleans and I want to help share the message that urban education can be successful.
Others, like Matt Fegan 12, are so inspired they stay in the classroom. Fegan檚 initial two-year commitment took him to Tulsa, Okla., and though 渢eaching is hard as hell sometimes, he stayed on for two more years there because of how well TFA is received in the community and 渋t檚 a social ill that (he檚) passionate about.
Fegan has since moved to Denver, where he teaches sixth grade math in a charter school network, but remains a very strong proponent of TFA. During the summers, he is still involved with the organization, training the next round of corps members, and in fact, noted what a thrill it was a few months ago to meet and prepare fellow 黑料老司机 alum Imani Ferguson 17, now a TFA corps member in Cleveland.
If this current trend holds, as expected, there will be many more TFA-黑料老司机 connections.
Image: Matt Fegan ’12 fulfilled a two-year commitment in Tulsa, Okla., and enjoyed his TFA experience so much, he spent two more years there before moving on to Denver, where he remains a teacher.
Posted in News on November 13, 2017.
