Why did you join the Mississippi Teacher Corps?

I had done tutoring before and I had also worked with young children.  Through those two experiences I saw the impact a teacher could have on a young person’s life.

What has been the biggest challenge?

The desire and determination to always try and better yourself.  You work hard and spend a lot of time on a lesson and then it doesn’t work.  You have to go back to the drawing board and set it up again.  To be a good teacher requires constant work and self-improvement.

What has been the biggest reward?

Definitely, the personal relationships you have with the students.  One of my students, Robert, called me on Christmas morning to wish me Merry Christmas.  Later, I found out he had been evicted from his house, and he was taking care of his brother, who was mixed up in drugs.  With everything going wrong in his life, he took time to call me because he looked up to me and respected me. That means a lot.

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.