What have you been doing since MTC?

Immediately after MTC I thought I would become an anthropologist, but I quickly realized that I wanted to be in schools forever, so I went right back into the classroom. Eight years ago I began teaching middle school English at a small, high-performing charter school in Boston called Boston Collegiate. After a few years I joined the school's leadership team and for three years now I've been the school's Executive Director.

What was the greatest reward of being a part of the Mississippi Teacher Corps?

The greatest reward was realizing that classrooms are where the world can be changed, slowly. I still think more often of my Yazoo City students than any others I've ever taught. Struggling to teach for two years in Yazoo City was the most difficult thing I've ever done, and the most humbling.

Another great reward was living and working with some amazing and wonderful people, many of whom are still dear friends.

What was the biggest challenge?

The biggest challenge of the MTC was facing students every day who I felt I was failing--I didn't feel like I was teaching them the way I wanted to and the way they deserved.

How has MTC impacted your life?

MTC impacted me in so many ways. I think about Mississippi every day and feel inspired to work hard in my job. It was my two years in Mississippi that got me into and keep me in education. I will forever sympathize with struggling first year teachers.

Finally, I attribute my lasting love of sweetened tea, listening to blues music in moving cars, big skies, and flowering trees to my two years in the Delta.

(Kathleen Sullivan, 2008)

The Mississippi Teacher Corps is the most competitive teaching program in the country. The two-year program, designed for non-education majors, recruits college graduates to teach in the Mississippi Delta and offers a host of benefits, including teacher training and certification, a full scholarship for a master's degree in education, job placement that includes full pay and benefits and, most importantly, the opportunity to make a difference in the lives of students in one of the poorest areas of the country.