My program has been unique and deeply helpful so far. The faculty members are doing a wonderful job of supporting us through the virtual platform while allowing us to build a small MAT community of our own. Even though I’ve never met any of the people I’m talking to, I still feel deeply connected to them. I feel blessed to have such wonderful mentors and professors who are able to create so much for us despite the odd environment.

I didn’t realize I wanted to go into teaching until I graduated from college found a passion for seeing growth and success from children I was tutoring. I also realized that not everyone has access to the same opportunities and equity is a significant issue in our school systems. When I decided I wanted to become a teacher I began looking for programs that included a social justice lens for teaching pedagogy. I wasn’t pursuing a master’s degree explicitly in my search, but I was pursuing a program that emphasized the social contexts of education and how to visualize an equitable classroom. Brown happened to be the perfect fit for me at the end of the day.

I hope to apply what I’m learning at Brown directly in the classroom. I want to improve student learning outcomes by incorporating all of the tools I’ve been gathering in my courses and to also become an agent of change for the schools where I will teach. At the end of the day, I’m just learning how to be a better advocate for my future students.

The current global crisis is heart-wrenching for a future teacher like myself. Everyone in my cohort, including my mentors, are concerned about going back into the physical classroom. Although teaching at BSHS virtually last summer came with its own challenges, I have found solace in the fact that our students are out of harm’s way. My family and I contracted the coronavirus while I was in the middle of my program last summer. While I was thankful that my professors were very understanding, I hope that no one in my cohort would go through the same experience with the virus. There’s definitely a lot of anxiety surrounding schools reopening and what the safety precautions will be. We all share a great concern for one another and for our students.