Niambi Sampson was a journalism student at Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University when she discovered Teach for America. Niambi joined the corps in 1998 and has continued serving as an advocate for young people in her role as SVP of teaching and learning at 3DE, where Niambi is working to create schools within schools that will help students engage in relevant, authentic, and engaging experiences to help more students succeed.
Q&A
What led you to apply to Teach For America?
I grew up as a child in a very small rural community. I had access to my aunts, uncles, and cousins, but outside of that, the world was insular. I knew at a very early age that there was this access that I had where my parents didn't have a lot of resources. They put a lot of emphasis on education, and they made sure that I was equipped for whatever scenario I was in. I realized that that gave me social capital that was going to allow me to see the world as my oyster. It’s really about One Day, and that message tugged at me.
How did Teach For America help prepare you to become the leader you are today?
Leadership, to me, is about galvanizing people and getting people together toward one vision, and that's what classroom teaching is. It’s about having one objective following it to the end. We can't leave any man behind. Everything around my leadership skills happened inside my Teach for America experience. I didn't know it at the time. I didn't know it until I left the classroom and realized that the leadership skills that I built inside of TFA were unparalleled to any that I saw outside of it.
How have you leveraged the network you've built of Teach for America corps members and alums you've met along the way to shape where you are now?
I've been with Junior Achievement for over ten years, and part of the reason they even offered me the job or an interview is that they had former TFA alumni working with them. That reputation follows you wherever you go, and it also sets the bar for you wherever you go because they're like, "Oh, you're TFA; you can climb buildings and leap tall mountains, or leap tall buildings.”