From the classroom to the business world, Carol still applies the lessons she learned as a middle school math teacher.

Q & A

What led you to apply to Teach For America?

I learned about TFA in college through a program called BreakThrough, where I was trained to teach math to middle school students from low-income backgrounds in a summer school setting. Some of the mentors at BreakThrough were TFA alums, and they helped inspire me to apply.

When you think about yourself before and after the corps, what changed?

When I first started, I felt like an outsider. I wasn’t from The Bronx, and I wasn’t brown. I was nervous and desperate to prove myself, and the experience taught me more about what I stand for. In the classroom, I learned about systematic racism and cyclical poverty. I began to really understand and appreciate my privilege. I learned how to make data-based decisions and how to be resilient.

How do you use the skills and beliefs you developed in the corps in your current job?

I’m now working in business, but the lessons endure. TFA taught me how to build relationships with people while holding them accountable, to command a room, and make people believe in themselves. I learned about setting vision—to use mission statements and other visions to define a culture. I still apply what I learned about goal-setting; if you can’t measure it, why bother setting it?