Our alumni
Alumni support
Alumni in physical sciences and mathematics
There is a growing need for professionals in the sciences and mathematics fields, yet our public schools, especially those in low-income communities, are failing to adequately prepare students for these careers. Through Teach For America, mathematics and science majors can help expand and diversify the pipeline of future mathematicians and scientists by providing more students in low-income public schools with the skills, knowledge, motivation, and support they need to be successful. You can make a significant impact on your students' understanding of these subjects while inspiring them to pursue a career in one of these fields. At the same time, you'll gain valuable insight into the issue of educational inequity. Our alumni say that spending two years teaching in a low-income community profoundly impacted their thinking and allowed them to develop a useful skill set for future mathematics and science pursuits.
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Alumnus perspective | |
Graduate school partnerships |
Alumni profile: Sheila Kannappan
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Two of my closest college friends grew up in low-income communities, and they opened my eyes to the economic disparities in our country. Despite their economic disadvantages, my friends had attended well-resourced public schools in New York City and Oregon, and by college we were on similar career paths. Discussing their experiences raised my awareness of the connection between educational opportunities and life outcomes.
During my junior year in college, I questioned my choice to pursue a career in physics. I felt compelled to work toward ending the inequities I was seeing in science education. I wanted to combine my passion for science with my emerging interest in educating the next generation, especially those populations traditionally underrepresented in science: people of color, women, and those from low-income backgrounds.
Initially, I struggled to reach my students. I received support from my principal and from Teach For America's staff. My students responded to being held to high standards, and significantly improved their scores on the end-of-year state tests, with several reaching the advanced level. Being able to work through my own limitations to make a difference for my students was a
life-changing experience.
The focus and time-management skills I acquired in the corps proved invaluable in graduate school. Because of my Teach For America experience, the Harvard physics department allowed me to develop a tutorial course for undergraduates. I started an informal mentoring program for female graduate and undergraduate students, and I mentored several students in local schools. As a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Texas at Austin, I won a National Science Foundation (NSF) fellowship that allowed me to combine high-level scientific research with education and public outreach work, giving me a competitive edge in the faculty job market. I still use the teaching approach I learned from Teach For America: I have high expectations of all students and set clear goals.
Seeing the challenges facing rural public schools deepened my commitment to bringing science to underrepresented
populations. I chose to teach at the University of North Carolina because it values community service and focuses on attracting a diverse population of students. I also was glad to return to the region where I taught and to continue working toward educational equity. I am currently working with Teach For America physics teachers to develop curriculum-based materials that bring the excitement of astronomy into underserved schools and that inspire students to pursue science careers. It's challenging work, but it's also fulfilling to be doing something so worthwhile in the place that I consider home.
Alumni profile: Brynja Kohler
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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.
Alumni profile: Andrew Noble
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As a teacher, I quickly discovered that interactive learning was the key to student achievement. When my students struggled with graphing skills, we brought all the desks together in the center of the classroom to form graph paper on a more human scale. To measure acceleration due to gravity, we dropped balls in the atrium. Some of my students learned to build a simple robot from a kit provided by the local chapter of IEEE and took second prize in a competition with a field of 30 teams. For me, teaching in an under-resourced school system sparked a lot of my creativity and resourcefulness. Also, the interpersonal and communication skills I gained were valuable assets as a graduate student in the hard sciences. I learned how to negotiate delicate social situations and to deliver compelling presentations. The keys to success in the classroom became the keys to success in
research.
Alumni profile: Mala Radhakrishnan
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I didn't want to go to grad school just because 'it was the next thing to do' - I wanted to feel like it was a choice I was making after being informed about other things. Teaching helped give me a true reason to come back to grad school: I want to learn as much as I can about science, and delve into cutting-edge research in order to devise creative ways to connect youth with exciting scientific research in the future. Having taught, I am more mature in approaching stressful situations and much more aware of how I learn. I feel that I am a better student because of it.
Alumni profile: Peter Thomas
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The skills I gained during my teaching experience- the ability to motivate students to take an interest in science, and the capacity to speak in front of large groups-were highly valued by my peers and professors at the University of Chicago. More importantly, I gained insight into one of the most fundamental and formative institutions of our society that I could not have gotten without being in the classroom.
Learn more about alumni effecting fundamental change
Graduate school partnerships
Our science, technology, engineering, and mathematics workforce is the backbone of our innovation economy and the source of our economic and national security. We must value science, those who do it, and those who teach it. And we must tap all of the talent this nation has to offer. Success begins in the classroom. Teachers who are prepared, equipped, and passionate about the possibilities of science and math offer our best hope for the next generation. Teach For America seeks to bring that sense of possibility, that passion for discovery, that spark of hope into underserved math and science classrooms, and our nation will be stronger for it.
- Shirley Ann Jackson
President, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Former Chairman,
U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (1995-1999)
A growing number of physical sciences and mathematics 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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