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Law

Alumni Profile: Taggart Hansen Attorney, Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP Los Angeles Corps ’93, taught 6th grade at Noyes Elementary School Yale University ’99, J.D. Miami University of Ohio ’93, dual B.A. political science and black world studies

knew before going to college that I wanted to attend law school. I felt that I had worked very hard in college to achieve success, but I was not prepared to go straight to law school or to take the LSATs. Teach For America was the only program I applied to as a college senior. Once accepted, I realized that by becoming a teacher I now had the unique opportunity to be a role model for students of all different backgrounds, particularly those from disadvantaged communities. Moreover, I truly believe that my Teach For America experience was instrumental in my being accepted at top law schools - schools I may not have gotten into had I applied during my undergraduate years.

Business

Alumni Profile: Kermit Cook St. Louis Corps '03 Dartmouth College, B.A. engineering sciences Stanford University, M.B.A. Pre-Corps Profession, Business Analyst, McKinsey & Company Post-Corps Profession, Associate, KKR Capstone

I had a fantastic high-school experience and although I was intellectually aware of my privileged background, I wasn't emotionally aware of the fortunate situation I was in. When I started to think about what I wanted to do, I realized Teach For America was a unique opportunity to work in a field that I am passionate about.

If I hadn't spent my two years at Teach For America, my perspective on leadership would be very different and less balanced. My experience as a corps member made me aware of what it takes to be an effective leader and what it means to truly have an impact on people. In addition, I gained an understanding of how people learn and develop. It's critical to recognize when people are struggling, while not lowering your expectations of what they can achieve.

Never was there a day during my teaching experience that I woke up and felt like I was going to a job. It felt more like, 'This is my life. I'm passionate about doing this.

Medicine

Alumni Profile: Prasanna Jagannathan Chief Resident Internal Medicine, San Francisco General Hospital Los Angeles Corps ’98,taught 9th through 12th grade science at Locke High School Harvard University ’05, M.D. University of California, Berkeley ’98, B.A. religious studies

I was inspired to be a physician from a young age, observing my uncle - a physician in southern India - take care of every patient who came through his clinic. For my uncle, health is a right that should be provided to all. During college, I spent a year in India and volunteered at one of Mother Teresa’s homes for the dying and destitute, becoming intimately aware of social inequity. I made many friends with similar interests, and one introduced me to Teach For America.

In college, I also tutored and served as a study group leader, and loved to teach. I saw Teach For America as an opportunity to teach while working to address inequalities in our society. Before entering the classroom, I didn’t understand the magnitude of the achievement gap. I assumed there was no way students could pass 8th grade without being able to read a complex sentence or do fractions, but there were individuals in my classes who had not mastered those skills. Experiencing that firsthand was very profound.

I had some concerns about being an effective teacher, but I learned how to create a positive environment in my classroom. I tried to make my classroom interactive and hands-on, and set up breakout sessions for students who were having difficulty. I worked with the other Teach For America teachers at my school and used this network as a source of support. We tried together to be positive agents of change at our school.

Very early in my Teach For America experience, I realized that poor health, nutrition, and a lack of access to adequate medical services negatively impacted my students’ ability to achieve in school. This reality played a large part in my decision to pursue medicine as another way to serve my students.

I’ve always been drawn to groups that align around a common purpose - people accomplish so much more when they work together with a shared vision. My Teach For America experience confirmed that. To this day, I have a sense of being part of a larger movement of incredible individuals. Of six residents in my primary care internal medicine residency at UCSF, which focuses on training physicians to care for the underserved, two of us were Teach For America alumni.

I don’t believe there’s a single “right” path to becoming a physician. The right path really is what is important to you, what makes you excited, and what inspires you to make a difference. At Harvard Medical School, I served on the admissions committee, and I saw how highly the members value the Teach For America experience. They recognize that corps members develop a strong sense of self and bring a unique perspective to the field. My corps experience sharpened my resolve to become a physician, so that when I got to medical school, I really knew why I was there.

Biological Sciences

Alumni Profile: Mitch McVey Assistant Professor of Biology, Tufts University Rio Grande Valley Corps ’94, taught 9th grade biology at Mary Hoge Academy Massachusetts Institute of Technology ’02, Ph.D. biology University of Colorado at Boulder ’94, B.S. biochemistry

I began college with the intention of going directly to medical school. I knew, however, from my experience as a teaching assistant at the University of Colorado at Boulder, that I had a passion for teaching. After discussions with my undergraduate research mentor, who encouraged me to investigate alternative career paths before graduate school, I decided to join Teach For America.

It was early during my first year as a corps member that I began to wrestle with the issues associated with the achievement gap. As a 9th grade biology teacher, I was charged with inspiring my students to look at the natural world around them, observe patterns, and ask questions. Yet my students often dealt with more pressing issues, and therefore were less focused on thinking critically about science. It was only when they saw the connections between their lives and the scientific methods that biologists employ that we began to make progress. For example, to teach the scientific method, I invented a scenario where the class had to apply this method to determine whether or not a character on a popular television show would be hired for a job. Within minutes, the students were spinning hypotheses and proposing ways to test them. That day I felt the scientific culture gap in my classroom shrink from miles to meters.

In addition to these professional lessons, my two years as a corps member had a deep emotional impact on me. I experienced how a group of dedicated teachers committed to the success of their students can go a long way towards closing the achievement gap. For example, in order to introduce my class to viruses and the immune system, another Teach For America corps member and I designed a hands-on activity in which the students created diagrams of viruses. When a student entered my classroom the next morning toting a 5-foot-tall replica of a bacterial virus, I knew that we’d had a breakthrough.

The two years I spent in the corps focusing on inquiry-based learning with my students underscored the importance of providing authentic research opportunities for students who have traditionally been under-represented in the sciences. Moreover, my Teach For America experience gave me important perspective that helped me choose a career path that is fulfilling and enjoyable. Having completed an experience so challenging, I was better prepared for graduate school and for my current position, which is a combination of teaching biology at Tufts University and running my own lab. My long-term goal is to formalize mechanisms by which scientists and medical professionals can partner with teachers in order to motivate students and prepare them for the rigors of college science courses.

Education

Alumni Profile: Michelle Rhee Chancellor, District of Columbia Public Schools Founder, The New Teacher Project Baltimore Corps ’92, taught 4th grade at Harlem Park Elementary School Harvard University ’97, M.P.P. concentration in education policy Cornell University ’92, B.S. government

While I’ve always been interested in working with kids, it never occurred to me that I could pursue a career in education. My parents really wanted me to enter the business world or become a doctor or lawyer.

I first heard about Teach For America from a documentary on PBS. The piece showed a corps member doing all sorts of incredible stuff, and that compelled me to apply. When I was accepted, I wasn’t sure what to do, because I also had offers from a few graduate programs. The prospect of Teach For America was exciting, but also daunting. I called my grandmother for advice because I greatly valued her opinion. “Why wouldn’t you be a teacher?” she said. “I did it, and so can you.” These words of encouragement motivated me to join.

It was difficult in the beginning. But I refused to give up. In my second year, I teamed up with another teacher and we taught a class of more than 60 students for two additional years.
I assigned two hours of homework a night. I visited my students’ homes, called their parents, and held before-school and weekend tutoring sessions.

The results made all the work worthwhile: on average, my students’ standardized test scores jumped from the 13th percentile to the 90th. That proved to me that all students have the ability to achieve, because the only thing that had changed in that classroom was how the adults were teaching.

I went on to earn my M.P.P. and then formed The New Teacher Project, a nonprofit that works to change the way teachers enter the profession. I was able to build TNTP into a nationally recognized organization that consults with large urban school districts to significantly improve their processes for recruiting and hiring new teachers. After 10 years leading TNTP, I was appointed chancellor of the D.C. public school system. Parents quickly saw the value in my Teach For America experience and my work with TNTP.

As chancellor, I’m responsible for 146 schools and 50,000 students. I’ve built a committed team with the help of several fellow Teach For America alumni. I’m trying to draw parents and the community back into a system that has disappointed them over the years. From my Teach For America experience, I know that significant progress is possible when you’re goal-oriented and hold high expectations for your students. I’m dedicated to doing anything it takes to get students to succeed, just as I was during my years as a corps member.

Engineering

Alumni Profile: Ayyana Chakravartula Currently writing Mechanics of Biomaterials (an undergraduate engineering textbook) Greater New Orleans Corps ’99, taught 8th grade mathematics at Woodson Middle School University of California, Berkeley ’05, Ph.D. mechanical engineering Princeton University ’99, B.S. aerospace engineering

I graduated from an excellent public school near Oakland, California. During college, I spent my summers coaching a swim team as part of Oakland’s youth swim league. As I neared graduation, I was torn about my plans. Although most people around me were headed to graduate school in engineering, I was also considering Teach For America because I had greatly enjoyed working with the kids on my swim team. One of my friends was in her first year as a Teach For America corps member, and though her experiences sounded incredibly challenging, the idea of a national teaching corps really excited me. I decided to defer my graduate school plans and join Teach For America.

I struggled with classroom management my first couple of weeks teaching, but after talking with fellow corps members and learning from the veteran teachers at my school, I set up a system: The students earned “math bucks” for things like being on time, and there was a “math market” where they could buy small items like stickers, pencils, and candy. They responded to this system, and we then moved on to building their mathematics skills. Like any engineer, I’m very comfortable with mathematics, and I worked hard to translate that attitude to my students. What mattered most was that my students had a positive experience in the classroom and were getting better at mathematics.

I found that the organizational skills I learned in Teach For America helped me immeasurably in graduate school. Regardless of my long-term career trajectory, Teach For America also helped me understand my individual capacity to change the society we live in. The experience of Teach For America made me want to use my engineering skills to tangibly improve people’s lives. Prior to beginning to write Mechanics of Biomaterials, I worked as a research scientist at Cambridge Polymer Group, Inc., where I conducted research into medical devices and biomaterials for orthopedics and cardiovascular applications. I hope the advances we see in these areas will help people live longer, more fulfilling lives.

I have made lifelong friends among the corps members, students, and teachers with whom I had the opportunity to work. I’ll always be involved in education in some way. I volunteer as a high-school mentor, and coordinated a program at Cambridge Polymer Group where students visited our laboratory to see the real-world applications of mathematics and science. After my teaching experience, I know that any chance our country has of closing the achievement gap will rest on whether we are each willing to commit our own time and energy to our schools and communities.

Politics and Policy

Alumni Profile: Andrew Greenhill Chief of Staff, Mayor of Tucson Houston Corps ’91, taught English as a second language at Marshall Middle School University of Arizona ’97, M.A. English Vassar ’91, B.A. English

I was always aware of the great differences in educational opportunities for children across Brooklyn, where I grew up, and across the country. A key reason I joined Teach For America was to help bridge those differences.

Teaching English as a second language to middle school students, however, was eye-opening. It gave me even more personal insight into the obstacles that impede greater educational opportunity for all children. I developed a deeper understanding of the specific challenges facing first-generation immigrants and their children. I became much more sensitive to how different societal problems compound and affect one another.

Realizing how interconnected these issues are influenced my decision to pursue a leadership position in local government. From my classroom experience, I knew the value of building relationships and support systems in order to strengthen the community. That helped me to be an effective teacher, and it has continued to help me throughout my career.

Today, I serve people in a way that is very similar to my Teach For America experience. I’m immersed in my community, just as I was when I was teaching. I am accountable for providing public safety, transportation, parks and recreation, clean water, and other environmental services for which the City of Tucson is directly responsible. I approach my job the same way I approached teaching: actively and personally. I try to understand, from the service level, the challenges people face. It’s one thing for a director of an organization to come to the mayor’s office and ask for $100,000 of city money for a program- you can comprehend it at a conceptual level - but I go to the site where they’re delivering the service, look at it from the perspective of those using the service, and see if the investment the city is making is valuable.

Government, education, health care - all the institutions upon which our communities and our nation depend - are only as strong as individual citizens make them. One of the benefits of the Teach For America experience is that you gain a deep, personal understanding of the challenges that many communities in our country face. Whether it’s at the ballot box or as a career choice, the experience of being able to make positive change is powerful and invaluable.

Science and Mathematics

Alumni Profile: Brynja Kohler Assistant Professor of Mathematics Education, Utah State University Los Angeles Corps ’92, taught 9th through 12th grade mathematics at John Marshall High School University of Utah ’04, Ph.D. mathematics New York University ’00, M.S. mathematics University of Chicago ’92, B.S. mathematics

I’ve always been socially active, but my parents—a professor and a school teacher - sparked my interest in teaching. In college, I volunteered at local schools and spent one summer as an assistant teacher. I was considering graduate school for neuroscience or applied mathematics after college, but I wanted to get some real-life experience and make a tangible contribution to the world. My mother suggested Teach For America.

Even though I had a bit of classroom experience, I was nervous about being an effective teacher. The support and resources Teach For America provided were a huge help-my fellow corps members and other teachers at my school were supportive throughout my teaching experience.

I found that my advanced mathematics knowledge enabled me to make lessons engaging for my students. I was able to develop projects tailored to their interests, and my students appreciated that attention and belief in their abilities. I began to see dramatic academic gains. In my A.P. calculus class, for example, 30 students passed the A.P. exam, compared with three the previous year.

I influenced my students on a more personal level as well. One of my students was learning English as a second language, and language issues impeded his progress in mathematics.
I worked with him after school, and I found out from his English teacher that he wrote in his journal about how that experience made him want to be a mathematics teacher. Another one of my students ended up joining Teach For America when he graduated from college.
Being able to motivate my students gave me confidence that I was lacking during my undergraduate career, and that helped me when I went back to school. In graduate school I had no problem talking to my professors or presenting my research effectively. My department actually asked me to lead seminars for graduate students to develop their lecture skills.

Mathematicians typically do postdoctoral programs before they apply for tenure-track positions, but I secured one immediately after my Ph.D. because of my Teach For America experience. The university wanted someone with an education background to teach the methods portion of its secondary education program. Now I have the opportunity to conduct my mathematical research and be involved in teacher education.

One thing that continues to motivate me is the knowledge that excellent teaching provides kids with opportunities in life. And it’s rewarding to have a career where I can be engaged in all levels of mathematics education and also be involved with colleagues at the frontier—actively discovering new mathematics.

Technology

Alumni Profile: Luis Alonso Software Engineer, Google Greater New Orleans Corps ’02, taught 9th grade physical science at the New Orleans Center for Science and Mathematics High School Columbia University ’07, M.S. computer science Carnegie Mellon University ’99, B.S. computer science

In college, I volunteered as a tutor at several under-performing local elementary schools. I was very lucky to go to high-performing schools throughout my life, and tutoring was the first time I faced the realities of low-income schools. I had received a generous scholarship to Carnegie Mellon, and I felt the need to give back to the community. Immediately upon graduation, I went to work in the high-tech arena, but after three years in the industry, I began to lose my focus and inspiration. I always knew I wanted to share my love of science, and that love combined with my tutoring experience motivated me to join Teach For America.

My school had two half-day sessions where we taught mathematics and science to a range of students from the top magnet schools and the highest-need public schools. We expected them all to do highlevel work. I worried about being effective in the classroom, but other corps members and teachers at my school were very helpful in sharing material and discussing what was and wasn’t working. Because of my science background, I was able to explain the material in multiple ways so that everyone could understand it. The teachers who taught my students the following year said my kids were much better prepared than the previous class had been. Upon reaching the 11th grade, my students took the required state test, and 90 percent passed the science portion.

I also served as the computer resource teacher at my school, and I dealt with a lot of bad software and had difficulty finding teaching materials. I knew I could use my computer skills to help fix these problems, and that’s why I went to work at Google. We’re improving education by making information more accessible, and we do a great deal of work with educators. Because of my teaching experience, I can clearly communicate ideas, which is extremely important in the technology field.

I definitely have a sense of being part of a broader movement. I attended the first Amgen-Teach For America Mathematics and Science Summit, and it was so good to talk about education and flesh out ideas with other alumni. It’s rewarding and inspiring to hear all the things alumni are doing within the education field and in other fields to work toward the Teach For America mission. My Teach For America experience was life-changing. The achievement gap became a core part of my understanding of the world, and it’s something I now see everywhere I look. I’m constantly thinking about what I can do to push for change. Because of the kids in my classroom, I feel personally invested in seeing that all kids have the opportunity to succeed.