Our alumni
Alumni support
Alumni in biological sciences
There is an urgent need for excellent science education in our nation. By teaching for two years in a low-income community, you can significantly impact students' understanding of science at a time when these schools struggle to staff teachers with scientific expertise. By making science relevant and leading your students to meaningful academic growth, you will pave the way for future scientists who might miss the opportunity to pursue such careers. You will also be better positioned to develop informed initiatives that will expand and diversify the pipeline of future scientists. Our alumni working in the biological sciences say that the challenges and rewards of their time in the corps led to tremendous personal and professional growth. You will have the unique opportunity to position yourself as a credible lifelong advocate for systemic changes that will lead to equity in our public education system.
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Alumnus perspective | |
Graduate school partnerships |
Alumni profile: Jake Socha
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Science has always been my passion, but I had a strong desire to teach before going to graduate school. As an undergraduate, I worked with economically disadvantaged students in an outdoor learning program, which raised my awareness of educational inequity in our country. After reading books on the subject, I considered Teach For America. My only hesitation about applying was a concern about how graduate schools might view taking two years away from my own schooling. My advisor assured me that selection committees would value my experience teaching in a low-income community, and that I would still have plenty of time to pursue a Ph.D.
Before I began my teaching commitment, the biology class at my placement school had been doing only two labs each year, and some other science classes had done none. I committed to at least one lab or hands-on activity per week. I enjoyed thinking up creative ways to demonstrate scientific concepts. My excitement about science was contagious, and it helped me connect with my students. I also started a cross-country track team at my school, and the team went on to win the state title as seniors. Two years after I left, my freshman students invited me back to speak at
their commencement.
My students wanted to learn, but the education system was not serving them effectively. My corps experience helped me understand just how widespread educational inequity is, and the impact that good teachers and school leaders can have in solving this enormous problem.
In the corps, I learned principles of effective teaching that have proven to be equally applicable at the university level. Because I taught high school, I also gained insight into students’ mind-sets and attitudes right before they entered college. Teach For America developed my maturity and focus, and the workload at graduate school seemed more manageable in comparison. During my time
at the University of Chicago, which is located near so many underachieving public schools, I started a program to bring my fellow graduate students into local science classrooms as guest teachers. A fellow graduate student, who was also a Teach For America alum, helped me get the program started.
I plan to develop new approaches for bringing biology
and biomechanics content into underserved K-12 classrooms. The shortage of mathematics and science teachers in low-income areas has long-term consequences for colleges and graduate schools, where a diverse faculty and student body is vital to driving innovation forward. Beyond that, the U.S. economy depends on workers with skills in these fields. Improving science education in our country means engaging all students in the excitement of scientific exploration. For my students, having a teacher who views science as his life's work helped build this excitement and motivated them to learn at the highest level.
Alumni profile: Mitch McVey
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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.
Alumni profile: Andrew Womack
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I was the first in my family to go to college, and because of my education, I have had the chance to do fantastic things and meet great people. I know that this opportunity is missing for many people, so I applied to Teach For America because of my strong belief that education is empowerment.
Once I entered the classroom as a corps member, I realized that the academic achievement gap stems from complex social problems—and that education can go a long way toward solving those problems. I have always been interested in public health, and in my classroom I gained firsthand experience that deepened my interest. My school had many students with lead poisoning, and witnessing the effects firsthand brought home the importance of effective public health measures. I also learned that having a safe, healthy social environment is essential for success. In my classroom, I tried to foster the kind of community that would not only lead to better learning, but would also be applicable for my students in the real world.
One of my most rewarding experiences was coaching the school’s basketball team and tutoring the players so they could maintain good grades. Additionally, I was able to secure a scholarship for one of our star players to go to basketball camp at my undergraduate alma mater. That was the first time he had left Baltimore or visited a college campus.
My experience in the Teach For America corps gave me perspective, which has been the most valuable and enduring lesson I have taken with me from the classroom to the laboratory and all aspects of my life. After dealing with the gravity and responsibility of teaching, when I missed a couple of questions on a test or ruined an experiment in the lab, I realized it was not the end of the world. I have also found that the organizational skills required for managing research data are similar to those required for tracking grades and test scores.
Graduate schools and fellowship committees definitely look favorably on Teach For America alumni. I received a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship largely because of my corps experience. I chose to go to Princeton for graduate school and found that many successful people here did not go straight to graduate school. Joining the corps was the right decision for me and has further enabled me to achieve my life goals in the laboratory, in public health policy analysis, and beyond.
Learn more about alumni effecting fundamental change
The future success of the United States requires not only well-trained scientists, but also a public that understands the nature of science. To help create a more rational world, we will also need scientifically trained leaders in all sectors of society. The scientific community must therefore pay much more attention to science education at all levels, from elementary school through the university, and we must work to steer our science students to many different career outcomes. In preparing thousands of our nation’s most talented college graduates to teach in our nation's lowest-performing schools, Teach For America is a major contributor to this ambitious agenda. Their corps members significantly impact the academic achievement of hundreds of thousands of students. And as their alumni pursue careers in science, education, and other sectors, they will be much more effective as leaders because of the many skills they gain through their Teach For America experience.
- Bruce Alberts
Professor, Biochemistry and Biophysics, University of California, San Francisco
President, National Academy of Science, 1993-2005
Past President, American Society for Cell Biology
Graduate school partnerships
A growing number of biological science graduate schools partner with Teach For America to offer special benefits for corps members and alumni, such as two-year deferrals and application fee waivers. These graduate schools seek out our alumni, recognizing that they have gone through a highly selective program and have engaged in a challenging professional experience. Click here to search our complete database.
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