A record number of service-minded Northwestern students anticipating a weak job market are seeking the opportunity to educate America’s youth.
This year’s 58 NU applicants to Teach for America’s first deadline ranked eighth among national schools and tied with Cornell University for the most applications compared to other schools of its size, said Dara Miller, Teach for America’s director of recruitment support for the Midwest Recruitment Team.
Applicants to the Oct. 25 deadline marked a significant increase from last year’s 33 applicants, Miller said. She added that the 53 people, or about 91 percent of NU’s applicants, were granted interviews beginning today. Interviews will take place this week and during the first week of December.
A current Teach for America participant, Kelly Langan, Weinberg ’02, said NU students often have traits that draw them to the program.
“Northwestern students, on the whole, have the go-getter personality — where they like to tackle challenges and they haven’t failed at much,” said Langan, who is teaching first grade at Oscar DePriest Elementary School in Chicago. “That type-A personality makes you a good candidate to do things like Teach for America.”
During the interview process, applicants must present a five-minute lesson to other interviewees, discuss articles about education, write an essay and participate in a one-on-one interview.
“I’m really nervous, but I’m also really excited to have the possibility of this actually happening,” said Katie Reibert, a Communication senior. “Being selected as an interview candidate was an honor in itself.”
Reibert, who is interviewing for the program today, became interested in Teach for America last winter and now works as a campaign coordinator promoting the program in classes, information sessions and career fairs. She attributes the growing number of applicants to both the economy — especially after the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11 — and the energy of recent NU graduates.
Teach for America is a national corps of recent college graduates who commit two years to teach in public schools in low-income communities.
Miller, Education ’00, joined Teach for America after graduation. She said her experience sparked her passion for working to close the achievement gap between students of high- and low-income areas.
“When I was a senior in college, I knew I wanted to do something purposeful,” Miller said. “It’s not just a job, it’s not just being a teacher. You’re part of a network. I think that would excite Northwestern students to be a part of this movement.”
Weinberg senior Michelle Rabkin, NU’s other campaign coordinator, said although the application process is extremely competitive for all potential corps members, the high caliber of NU students might slightly decrease competitiveness for them.
“A lot of students come out of Northwestern excited, idealistic and ready to use what they’ve learned to good ends,” Rabkin said. “I think a lot of people at Northwestern are civic-minded on a fundamental level, and Teach for America provides a way to follow that passion in a way that is practical for college graduates.”
Langan encourages potential applicants to observe Chicago-area classes to get a sense of how the program works.
“One of the things that was toughest for me was realizing just how far behind my kids were and just how much work I need to do to bring them up to where I wanted them to be,” she said. “It’s definitely been the most challenging 10 weeks of my life, but at the same time, I wouldn’t trade it for anything.”
If accepted into the program, Reibert said she expects an experience of a lifetime.
“I think more and more Northwestern students will continue to apply in future years,” Reibert said. “I think this program is just starting to gain its true momentum.”
