TFA - Follow Up

As I spend more time posting on my blog, I like checking my stats. I notice a lot of my traffic comes from my Teach for America posts. I thought I'd write a little follow up post. I sub

I'll know more as of the ninth after they complete the phone interviews and release the details of the locations and the sample teaching session. A sample teaching session, five minutes in front of 12 other interviewees and the panel.

My interview was in March of 2009. I prepared a sample teaching session discussing how to conduct an interview. I figured since I had the background from my producion education and the topic could be applied to any interview it would work well. It was probably a pretty decent sample lecture.

Before the interview I read a fewTeach for America books, sorry I can't remember which ones and learned about the program. I also read a bit of Savage Inequalities, worth the read, if you get the chance.

The biggest thing I remember about that day was how NERVOUS I was. All I could focus on were the nerves. I thought I would forget my lecture, that I wouldn't have the right answers to the interview questions or that I would be the least qualified person in the room. Or all three things.

Maybe all of those things could have happened, but if I would have just taken a deep breath and focused on the opporunity and experience I might have walked away with a different outcome. Or not but I would have enjoyed the experience more. I was so nervous, I barely remember it.

I wasn't accepted to Teach for America. I'm not sure that I fit who they were looking for. I still wonder if I would have been open to a high need area if I would have been accepted. It worked out for the best. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact me! And GOOD LUCK!

edit: My best advice, BREATHE. Don't psych yourself out. I tried chilling the night before with some meditation, but stay so wrapped up in my own head it didn't work. I've learned since then a large part of any interview is your personality, and to be true to that and yourself. Oh and maybe check out this post from Yes & Yes, chill the eff out.

Kate a Teacher?!

Kate a Teacher?! Well I'm one step closer to it being a reality!

Two weeks ago I submitted my Teach For America application and today I found out that I was accepted in to the final round interviews. I'm skipping the phone interview, which was a relief due to my ever weakening Chocolate, and straight to the group final interview!

I'll know more as of the ninth after they complete the phone interviews and release the details of the locations and the sample teaching session. A sample teaching session, five minutes in front of 12 other interviewees and the panel. I'm nervous already, but a good nervous. I'm excited to see where this could take me and will enjoy preparing for it.

I posted my letter of intent and application essay below just for the heck of it. Check 'em out if you'd like.

TFA - Essay

In 500 words, describe a time when you encountered serious obstacles to success while working on a project. You may choose any academic, professional, or extracurricular project you have worked on during the past four years.

Growing up outside of a very small town I always dreamed of living in a big city and just over a year ago I was knee deep in emails searching for an apartment in New York. I'd just accepted an internship with a company unknown to me, Corra Films and was about to move to a city far from anyone I knew. It was a dream come true but a huge challenge as well to make this all a reality, first securing the internship, then a place to live, and finally finding my way in the city.
To complete my degree at Ferris State University I was required to complete a six month internship in video production. My classmates were interviewing for internships provided by the university but I wanted an internship that I received on my own merits and not simply because I was a Ferris student. In September I started sending resumes to production companies in Chicago and New York. I spent countless hours researching companies and scouring job websites for internship opportunities. After several interviews I was offered a position in New York at Corra Films. I was so excited, after living in mid-Michigan my whole life, I was moving to New York!

Now I had to find a place to live. I sent hundreds of email responses to postings on craigslist.com searching for an apartment. Then I was able to spend 36 hours in the city viewing 12 apartments, a marathon of subway rides and getting lost in beautiful neighborhoods. At the last stop, I found my apartment, close to work, the subway, and in a great neighborhood.

I was moving from mid-Michigan to New York on the cusp of a new life and I was just excited. Adjusting to life in the big city was hard at times. I felt alone and overwhelmed many days but I learned to overcome it. First, by exploring the city and its many neighborhoods and eventually by finding people with similar interests through a website called meetup.com.

I've continued on in the city, accepting a full time position at Corra Films. Its given me the opportunity to make further discoveries and the most recent has been that while New York may provide me with exciting opportunities the things I enjoy the most are still the same as when I was living in mid-Michigan. Partially because of this realization, I've come to a crossroads and I don't want to just go on to the next job that comes my way. Teach For America will give me an opportunity to explore a new path while improving the lives of students. I've have always had a support system behind me, I was able to move to New York for an unpaid internship with my mom's support and excitement. Not everyone, or even most people, would have the freedom to make a drastic financial leap such as this without support from their family and friends.

TFA - Letter of Intent

To Whom It May Concern:

I am writing to express my interest in joining Teach For America. After learning about Teach For America I knew it was an organization that I wanted to be a part of. The commitment to optimism is something that I can bring to the program while showing respect to fellow corps members and students.

I grew up in a small rural community in mid-Michigan. The school district was a microcosm of some of the inequities in education that Teach For America seeks to remedy. While the school I attended was not able to provide the depth of experiences that nearby larger districts were able to, I was very fortunate to have parents that were educators themselves and provide me with much that was missing from my daily school life. But, many of my peers were not so fortunate.

Equality in education and opportunity regardless whether a person is from a wealthy community or the inner city is a basic human right but is not a reality for many. Working to correct that injustice is something I want to be a part of. I know that it will take many people with many skills playing many roles to accomplish this. As a member of the corps, I would be able to use my knowledge and skills in media and video production, but at this time in my life, I feel that I can contribute the most by joining the corp as a teacher.

With both parents as educators becoming a teacher seemed a natural goal for me, but I chose a different path. I completed my degree in video production which brought me to New York for an internship at Corra Films, a documentary film and commercial production company. After completing my internship I joined the staff but now as the economy has taken a downward turn my position has been one of the first to go. At this point my career is at a crossroads and joining Teach For America would bring me back to one of original career aspirations to become a teacher.

To have the opportunity to enter the classroom with the support of the corps and positively effect the lives of students would be an experience like none other. While I have a personality that would work well in a classroom - fun but calm, passionate but real, Teach For America's support through the training courses would provide me with the confidence and knowledge necessary to be an excellent teacher.

As this program focuses on closing the achievement gap of education in the United States, I can be a positive force for the effort. I would work to inspire passion in students to have them be excited about learning something will help them work to learn more and more ultimately achieving educational success.

If you have any questions for me please feel free to contact me... Thank you for your time and consideration.

Sincerely,

Kate Rees