Why did you join MTC?

Coming out of college I was pretty uncertain as to what I wanted to do for a job, and then one of my roommates had been selected for a national program in which he would teach at an inner-city school. I had always volunteered a lot with kids so I started checking out some programs just to see what was out there. Once I stumbled upon MTC's webpage and read the program's ideals and benefits, I knew this was the program that I wanted to be a part of.

What has been the greatest challenge?

If I had to pick the most challenging part of teaching, I think I would have to say figuring out my own discipline strategy. This is one of the huge components that I think a lot of people underestimate when they are first entering the program; I know I did. I thought I was just going to start inspiring my students from day one, and I found out in a hurry that there is so much ground work that has to go in to your classroom first before it can begin to mold in to the classroom you want it to be.

What has been the greatest reward?

I guess it's a pretty cliche answer but without a doubt it is the relationships that I've formed with my students. It almost seems like the more I get to know them, the more I like them. Plus, it is such an indescribable feeling when you have so much invested in them, and then you start to see positive results begin to take form. It's a really unique job.

How do you like coaching?

The coaching has been an absolute blast!! I think a lot of times in the classroom you have to be a little more serious and little more professional in your relationships with your students, because you want them to stay focused on what we are trying to learn. In coaching, I think the kids get to see a different side of me in that I crack jokes a lot more, and I am a little more loose with them. I still demand a lot; I just do it in a different way. Plus, we won the city title in football, and we are the favorite to win in basketball as well. I don't think you can top that experience being a first year coach.

The Mississippi Teacher Corps is the most competitive alternate-route teaching program in the country. It is a two-year program that recruits recent college graduates to teach in critical-shortage areas in the Mississippi Delta, in exchange for a full scholarship for a master's degree in curriculum and instruction from the University of Mississippi. The program was founded in 1989 by Amy Gutman, a Harvard University graduate student, and Dr. Andy Mullins, then Special Assistant to the State Superintendent of Education. Since 1989 more than 350 participants, reaching an estimated 70,000 students, have taught in critical-needs school districts as part of the Mississippi Teacher Corps.