Alyssa Elmore Hamler, Ph.D.
Metro Atlanta '08
Q & A
What struggles did you overcome during your first year of teaching?
I wish that I could say I was confident and ready to jump right in, but with full transparency, I was terrified. My first year was difficult, but I worked hard to learn what effective teaching looked like. I entered my second year ready to take on the world, and it showed in my students’ results: 100 percent of my students passed the reading portion of their standardized test.
How do you use the skills and beliefs you developed in the corps?
In college, I learned to critically examine the structures that impact students’ access to opportunities—historically and today. My time in the corps built upon these intellectual foundations and laid the groundwork for my career as an education researcher, teacher, and counselor. I now go to work with a sense of purpose and drive to make sure Black and brown students know they matter.
What do you wish that everyone knew about TFA?
The work is absolutely worth it. And even if you are skeptical about TFA, it’s important never to disparage the work that corps members do daily. Corps members work incredibly hard for kids, and that fact cannot be disputed.