Q: Why did you join Teach For America? A: I had an amazing experience my sophomore year in the PULSE program volunteering at the Lee School located in Dorchester. I was disturbed by much of what I saw there, including minimal resources and burned out teachers. There really seemed to be a complete lack of hope in the classroom where I volunteered. The discrepancy between the quality of education students were receiving in Dorchester and the education I received growing up in suburban Maryland haunted me. What I saw in the classroom frustrated me so much that I knew I just had to get involved. When I learned about Teach For America, I knew it was the program for me. I had spent hours sitting in the back of a classroom as an aide, feeling like I had little to no control over what was going on in the classroom. I was excited that Teach For America would give me the opportunity to impact directly the educational opportunities of students in my own classroom.
Q: How did BC prepare you for Teach For America? A: The BC community has a clear commitment to social justice. So many of the courses that I took at BC and the lectures that I attended helped me understand the broader institutional framework that was contributing to racial and socioeconomic inequality in our country. I often tell people that wanting to be a teacher will probably not get you through your first year in Teach For America. This is because of the grand frustrations that you face on a daily basis and the reality that you probably are not getting as much actual teaching done as you would like. For me, on the days that I left school feeling like I had accomplished nothing, I would reflect on the larger institutional evils that I learned so much about during my time at BC. These thoughts reminded me that I was doing more then trying to teach a 10-year-old how to read, I was striving to combat centuries of institutional racism and socioeconomic inequality - a goal which could not and would not be solved over night. Additionally, BC taught me how to "think." By this I mean that my professors at BC gave me the skills to identify problems and systematically address them.
Q: How did my experience in Teach For America inform your decision to go to law school?
A: I always considered pursuing a career in law, but my time in Teach For America greatly influenced my decision to eventually enroll in law school. Though you have a tremendous impact on your students' lives while you are a classroom teacher, you quickly recognize that there are institutional structures which dictate, to a certain extent, the impact that you can have on them. There is much bureaucracy in many of the school districts in which Teach For America places, which translates into educators spending much of their day trying to cut through red-tape. My frustration with these institutional frameworks prompted me to pursue a career in the law, where I believed I would be better suited to tackle many of the legal issues that impact a child's day-to-day ability to learn in the classroom.
Q: How did Teach For America prepare you for law school?
A: Many people come to law school not knowing the type of law that they would like to eventually practice. Because I had two years to evaluate many of the evils facing my students in the South Bronx, I knew exactly what I wanted to do with my legal degree before I even began law school. Additionally, working as a classroom teacher dramatically impacted my ability to prioritize and manage my time effectively (two skills that are an absolute must in law school). Additionally, in the first few weeks of law school when everyone begins questioning whether or not they made the right decision, I knew that I had. I would often get calls from my former students, asking me about their math homework or simply telling me about their day. These calls, and the memories of my days in the classroom, motivate me every day to do the best possible job I can in my own studies. I know that the legal skills I am learning today will directly impact my students and their community tomorrow.
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