What inspired you to join the corps?

I was inspired to join the corps after recognizing the inequities in education when volunteering to teach financial literacy to local middle schools in Los Angeles during my undergraduate career. Even during this short time volunteering, I understood that access to a great education had to be a basic human right yet this isn’t what persisted across my college campus. As a college student who went to school out-of-state, I realized that the educational backgrounds of my peers were very homogenous, and usually not from underserved communities. I realized that one way to bring this perspective and work towards the mission of an equitable education was through Teach for America, so here I am!

What do you love about teaching in the Bay Area?

I love teaching in the Bay Area because of the progressive leaders in education who push the importance of identity in developing culturally relevant pedagogy, and the prevalence of education technology that constantly challenges innovation seen in the classroom. Being able to see these two merge and how accessible it is to the communities we serve has been incredible. Day-in and day-out I am constantly challenged to question why we teach the way that we do, and how to keep improving to best serve our students. Also, the food scene is great because of the diverse demographics across the Bay!

What projects are you looking forward to doing with your students this year?

A project I am looking forward to working on with my students this year is how to present a numbers-based solution to the issue of excessive force used by police officers to a police department. Using our introduction to one-variable statistics, we will be looking at the number of complaints a police department received compared to the number of officers to see which officers are jeopardizing public safety.

Share about a time a student made you laugh in your classroom this year.

A student made me laugh when I caught them trying to untie my shoe and then proceeded to drop down and do push-ups when I gave them my teacher stare.