Every year, many University undergraduates are admitted into law schools, medical schools and business schools. Some fourth-year students, however, decide to take on a different kind of responsibility: helping kids in need through Teach for America.
Teach for America's main goal is to bridge the education gap that leaves too many underprivileged kids without the opportunity to receive a proper education, TFA representative David Nachtweih said.
This year, more than 5,000 TFA members are teaching in more than 1,000 schools in 26 regions across the country, and more than 12,000 TFA alumni continue working for the program inside and outside the classroom, Nachtweih wrote in an e-mail. In each of the past four years, about 3 percent of the graduating senior class at the University has applied to TFA.
One of the current 5,000 TFA members is University alumna Courtney Stuckwisch, who began her two-year commitment to the program in September when she joined fellow TFA members in New Orleans to help rebuild the public school system. She is currently teaching 11th and 12th grade classes at Carver High School, which is open this year for the first time since Hurricane Katrina.
Stuckwisch, who was a regular volunteer at Madison House and her church, said she was committed to volunteer work while attending the University.
"Service has always been an important part of my life and so is trying to control what I know can be controlled," she said. "Katrina obviously was not something anyone could control, but the huge education gap is."
Though narrowing the education gap is a daunting task, Stuckwisch said she feels up to the task.
"It's important to me to find challenging roles instead of simply being a spectator of other people's challenges," she said, adding that teaching high-school students who are 17 to 18 years old and are still reading at the middle school level would definitely be a challenge to anyone, especially when taking into account that some of the students have not been to school since the hurricane struck.
Fourth-year College student Tomer Vandsburger, who was recently accepted into the TFA program in New York City, will also be gearing up to do what he can to improve the education gap.
"I am really excited about this opportunity because not only would it provide me with a chance to really help out a community, but it would also give me a chance to learn how to be a great teacher through experience instead of simply having to read a text on it," he said.
Besides fulfilling individual goals, TFA can provide participants with new knowledge and skill sets. Nachtweih said TFA participants reported that their experiences with the organization helped improve their management, problem-solving and leadership skills.
They also reported "their experience teaching gives them an in-depth understanding of the challenges facing low-income communities and insight into how to solve them," he said.
Insight into such an unfamiliar world is exactly why fourth-year Engineering student Hy Martin applied to become involved with the program.
"As college students, the concept of poverty is an abstract one," Martin said. "It's not until you completely immerse yourself within such communities that the concept becomes more concrete."
Stuckwisch agreed, noting "It's just such a great opportunity, not just for me but also the kids I work with because it allows for us to learn and understand each others' worlds."
A highlight for Stuckwisch was also the feeling of being valued; only one staff member returned to work at Carver High School after Hurricane Katrina.
"They can really appreciate what I am trying to do," she said. "I really do believe that such a disparity within the public education systems within cities like New Orleans should be more of a pressing matter to the public."
Nachtweih emphasized the impact the TFA members make on the communities they visit.
"Our corps members are creating a new culture of success and high expectations, and through this education, we can rebuild the future," he said.
Martin expressed a similar sentiment, noting that while the application process is intense, "in the end, it's really about the impact that I can make as a 22-year-old fresh out of college."
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