Q & A

What led you to apply to Teach For America?

I had talked to people who were extremely enthusiastic about TFA. I also spoke to people who gave me a lot of information about how challenging it would be. I always felt that TFA was not trying to sugar coat it for me. I knew what I was getting myself into.

What were some of the major lessons you learned during the corps?

The amount of organization and planning required to be a strong teacher is something that is instrumental in my current success. If you’re not organized as a teacher, you’ll sink. You need a lot of trackers, data, data analysis, and these are all skills that will help in law, business, running a company.

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

I couldn’t do this work if I hadn’t taught. If you’re interested in education policy, being a classroom leader in TFA will give you the opportunity to really know this. TFA is the first step to getting to that goal. You need credibility. Principals and teachers recognize my credibility as having committed to teaching our kids who need it most.

Have you been able to utilize the TFA network after the corps?

Education is a small world. Being an alum of TFA means you have similar values and have had similar experiences. TFA is very helpful because the alumni network is strong. You’ll be able to participate in networking events, presentations, opportunities to learn about new topics. It’s hard to find that after anywhere else.