"I was lucky to have attended high-performing public schools throughout my life. While studying at Carnegie Mellon, I wanted to make a difference in my local community. I tutored at several elementary schools in low-income neighborhoods, which opened my eyes to the realities of low-performing schools.

I worked in the high-tech arena immediately after graduation, and after three years, I began to lose my focus and inspiration. The sense of fulfillment I got from tutoring and my desire to continue sharing my love of science motivated me to join Teach For America.

I taught at a half-day mathematics and science program school. Almost all of our students were African-American and eligible for free or reduced lunch. Coming from top magnet schools and high-need public schools, they entered my class with differing levels of science knowledge. It was the first time I really understood the depth of educational disparity in our country.

We expected all students to do high-level work, so I learned where to lay the groundwork for them and where they needed to take leaps on their own. My science background enabled me to explain material in multiple ways so that everyone understood it.

My corps experience proved that two years can make a real difference in the lives of students. The teachers who taught my students the following year said they were much better prepared than the previous class had been. In 11th grade, 90 percent of my students passed the required state test.

Beginning the corps with professional experience gave me a head start. I already knew how to work individually and incrementally toward one large shared goal, so it was natural to set ambitious academic goals for my class and work with each student to achieve them. I could also find common ground with people whose views differed from mine, which helped me connect with my students and build relationships with fellow teachers and administrators. On the flip side, my teaching experience further developed my ability to clearly communicate complex ideas, which is essential in the technology field.

I was also the computer resource teacher at my school, and I dealt with poorly designed software and a lack of teaching materials. The satisfaction I felt from using my computer skills to address these problems is one reason 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.

My Teach For America experience changed my life. The achievement gap became a core part of my understanding of the world, and it’s something I now see everywhere I look. Because of the kids in my classroom, I feel personally invested in seeing that all kids have the opportunity to succeed."

"When I announced to my co-workers that I would be headed to the Mississippi Delta to teach math, most of my managers were very supportive-indeed, proud of my decision. I think that everyone-myself included-was very focused on what I would be giving to the kids and greater community that I would serve. I quickly realized, though, that I had entirely underestimated the amount that I would be learning in the process.

I walked into the business world right out of college afraid to make mistakes, relying heavily on my managers' experience. As a teacher, however, I learned to be super-autonomous. I needed to form my own opinions about things and move forward with my own plan. During that time, I made mistakes and I learned from them. That experience was new for me and gave me strength and courage."

"Teach For America is filled with diverse people who do dynamic things during their time in the classroom and beyond. When you join the corps, you join a large network of incredible people that will not only help you when you need support in the classroom, but will continue to be important friends for the rest of your life and career."

"Prior to Teach For America, I was working in a corporate job in Texas. Approximately 18 months into my career, I realized that I had learned a lot about working for a living, but was not learning about real life. I had a desire for something challenging and meaningful, and I decided that I wanted my life to be my own—that in 50 years I would need to look back on what I did and be proud. What surprised me was that the 'sacrifice' that I made to teach in an under-resourced area has equipped me with the tools to be successful in any arena, professionally and personally.

I joined the Teach For America corps four years ago, and I have developed character strengths and skills that I would have never been able to find within myself had I made a different choice. My experience, coupled with the learning and networking opportunities that I have had through Teach For America, have made me a true asset to my family, my profession, and my community."

"In the third grade, I entered the gifted and talented program at my high-need Los Angeles public school, and the teachers in the program changed the course of my life. They paid attention to my life outside the classroom, and focused on preparing me for college. I was able to earn a scholarship to a private boarding school, which had numerous resources my previous school lacked. Without these resources, it would have been more difficult for me to compete for college admission.

In college I studied equity and income distribution, and seeing more clearly the link between educational opportunity and life outcomes solidified my interest in education policy. I went directly to graduate school after earning my B.A., but soon realized that teaching was the only way to get a real sense of the challenges teachers, schools, and school districts face. I couldn’t imagine talking about what educators should be doing without having firsthand teaching experience. I also wanted to make sure I would be an effective teacher, so Teach For America’s training was a big draw.

In the corps, I taught at a school where almost 90 percent of the students spoke Spanish as their first language. I definitely felt that I was serving as a role model for them, and their parents appreciated that I shared their language and background. I’ll never forget my class of second graders, who were in an English-only environment for the first time, and how their confusion and anxiety were allayed by my stories of facing the same challenge in kindergarten. Every day as a teacher was invigorating, and my hard work resulted in real outcomes. My students went from speaking only Spanish to reading in English. Teaching provided a real-world perspective on the systemic changes needed to close the achievement gap. Many of my current colleagues at The New Teacher Project are also Teach For America alumni, and our firsthand experience gives us credibility as we work with districts across the country to improve teacher quality.

As a school board member, I sometimes hear people make excuses for children in low-income communities, and I take it personally because I think about my former students and my own experience. I know that all students will achieve when held to high expectations, and I have a personal stake in ensuring that our policies in South Whittier reflect this potential. Without the experience of teaching, it would be much more difficult to be effective."

"I attended economically and racially diverse public schools and participated in service projects as a teenager, which made me aware of our country's social inequalities at a young age. I became a substitute teacher immediately after college and then attended graduate school, where I learned more about how the achievement gap serves to perpetuate our social inequalities. I joined Teach For America because I wanted to reach the students most impacted by this gap.

Though I had already studied education and had some teaching experience, I learned a great deal from Teach For America's training. I left the summer training institute knowing that my work would be pact of a larger movement to address the achievement gap. I was excited to join a group of teachers with common values and ideals for their students.

In my first year of the corps, I worked hard to balance preparing my students for the high-stakes state achievement tests with teaching critical thinking skills. Teach For America provided valuable support, and the faculty and administration at my school were always available to answer my questions.

I also became invested in the local community, living and attending church near my school and joining the local chapter of the Jaycees, a national nonprofit service organization for 18- to 41-year-olds. This helped me build relationships with my students and engaged their families in our efforts. With a lot of hard work, my students increased their developmental scale scores - which track progress over time and across grade levels - from one test to the next.

I came out of Teach For America a different person. Had I not joined the corps, I might still have become a teacher, but I would not have felt the immense impact a single teacher can have on students, both academically and personally, by being a strong leader in the classroom. I also would not feel so connected to the larger network of leaders dedicated to excellent public education.

Today I'm the principal of a school where 60 percent of the students are eligible for free or reduced lunch. My assistant principal is a Teach For America alumnus, and the faculty includes two corps members and another alumnus. We're a Title 1 school, which means we're eligible for federal funding to help students who are behind academically or at risk of falling behind. The environment reminds me of my Teach For America placement school: it's challenging, but it offers the opportunity to make a meaningful difference.

My corps experience showed me that the achievement gap can be closed with hard work, dedicated resources, and an education system that holds all students to the highest standards. I carry that conviction into work every day, and I know that my school and students benefit from it."

"After I completed my graduate degree, I then took a position working at the Center for Economic and Policy Research in D.C. for three years. I did a lot of international and domestic economic policy work while there, but found the environment to be very stifling. I wanted to understand firsthand how economic policies impact the lives of children and their families. I thought that teaching in a low-income community would afford me that opportunity.

I ultimately chose to apply to Teach For America over the other alternative certification programs in the D.C. area because it offered the best support and was deeply committed to addressing educational inequity. I'm currently working as part of the founding teaching team at a charter school in Harlem. I'm teaching math and running civic programs and loving it—and feel that I'm making a real impact on my students' academic achievement."

"Entering Teach For America after graduate school was beneficial to me and the students I taught. I was able to use my graduate school and real world experience in the classroom to bring math concepts to life. After all the work I did while teaching, meeting deadlines for large engineering projects seems almost effortless. Teach For America is garnering such a positive reputation nationwide that my participation in it definitely did not hinder my career progress. During my post-Teach For America job search, people seemed impressed by the program's rigor and the commitment it demanded. Although I started engineering after many of my colleagues, I've nearly ascended to their level in half the time."