Dan Tilden discovered a new sense of purpose serving in the corps. Today, he’s pursuing a career in medicine.

Q & A

What led you to apply to Teach For America?

I was applying to medical school, but TFA was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. I had gone straight from my parents’ home in a nice suburb to a university in a nice suburb. I had a strong sense that there was much more to life than I had seen. TFA was an opportunity to work with like-minded people on a shared vision of our collective future.

When you think about yourself before and after the corps, what changed?

Teaching showed me what I could do, how hard I could work, and the amazing things I could achieve. In college, I had the option to avoid classes that were hard or would challenge me in a way I didn’t want to be. Being a teacher, you have to confront different challenges every day. I also became more disciplined than I ever thought possible.

How has TFA prepared you for your current position?

There is so much overlap between being a teacher and being a doctor. Ultimately, to be successful at either, you have to be able to communicate and persuade. So I constantly draw on what I learned as a teacher. Everything from knowing the social context of my patients to different teaching strategies I used in the classroom helps me to be a better doctor.