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Question & Answer

Using Education to End Disparities

Sara CunninghamSara Cunningham of Alvin, Texas, graduated from SMU in May with degrees in financial consulting and economics. She will be spending the next two years in the Teach for America program, teaching in Texas’ Rio Grande Valley. She also is participating in SMU’s Student Adventures web site, where she will write about her experiences. She talks about joining the program and SMU’s influence on her life in the following question-and-answer:

Why did you apply for a position with Teach for America?

After working on the SMU Teach for America recruitment team for two years, I knew that my personal interests and passions were aligned with its mission. My experience with the ICE (Inter-Community Experience) program at SMU and living in the ICE House showed me first hand the disparity that exists between children growing up in low income areas and wealthier areas (East Dallas versus Park Cities). There are so many reasons this should not be true, so I wanted to be a part of an organization that is 100 percent committed to ending this disparity.

What was the application process like?

The first stage was an on-line application and essay. The next step was a day-long interview that included group discussion, responsive essays, a five-minute lesson in front of the other interviewees, a mock group problem-solving situation, and a one-on-one interview.

What do you hope to get out of this experience?

I hope to learn what I can tangibly do throughout my career to improve the situation of children living in poverty, especially those from immigrant families.

Where is your training and where will you be teaching?

I'll be training at the University of Houston, and I'll be teaching in the Rio Grande Valley; the specific city has not been determined.

How did being a Richter Scholar influence your decision?

I went to The Gambia for my Richter Fellowship and did research on the "Economics of Education." My intentions in traveling to The Gambia (and yes, it is called The Gambia, not just Gambia) were to further investigate why there is such a significant gap in the political and economic strength and stability between developing nations and developed nations. I used the Gambia and the U.S. for a frame of reference for a very general interest. Yes, this probably did in part influence my decision. I interviewed principals in many schools in The Gambia to identify their perspectives on the strengths and areas for improvement of their education system, as well as looked at various economic data available from the Gambian government. What I found was that the inability to produce and/or retain educated people (through the brain drain) in the country was in part contributing to the sustained disparity between The Gambia and other developed countries.

Do you think you will stay with teaching after your time with Teach for America?

We'll see how it goes in the first month or so, and I'll get back to you on that!

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