Teach For America
When I think about my time here at this university, I think about a whirlwind of incredible experiences. But I also think about that gnawing question that has always lurked: What in the world am I going to do after I graduate?
Although this inquiry is the quickest way to get any senior’s heart pounding and palms sweating, I actually have several ways I could answer it. I could look for marketing positions at countless firms. I could apply to an MBA program. I have choices.
But the question of what I could do after graduation actually has a second facet: What should I do? And as I turned each choice over in my head, none of them felt quite right.
As a first-generation Latina college student soon to have a college degree, I now have access to opportunities that many kids like me don’t have growing up. I worked hard to get into and through college and faced struggles along the way, but I also know that it was the hard work of many others that got me to this point. If just a few things were different — a different teacher, a different group of friends — I might not be a student at this university.
In 2010, I was named a Gates Millennium Scholar, securing a scholarship that helped me through undergrad and will ultimately aid me in obtaining a doctoral degree. The scholarship funded opportunities, such as my study-abroad trips, that I could not have afforded otherwise. I know I’m lucky — I wasn’t born with those resources, but I had the support I needed to secure them.
However, so many deserving students are not even aware scholarships like this are available to them. Take Laura, for instance. She’s a local high school senior I mentored. She has the brains, the drive and the dedication to go to a great school. But she almost missed out — she assumed college was much too expensive to ever be a reality for her.
I know exactly how Laura felt. I was that A-plus student who helped raise my twin brother while our mother was out working two jobs. I constantly wondered how I was ever going to help my mom make it out of living paycheck to paycheck. I never once thought it would be through college. I never once thought that both my brother and I would be college graduates.
When I think about what I can and should do with that privilege, working with kids like Laura is the answer that fits.So after graduation, I’m joining Teach For America. I didn’t make this choice because I think I’m going to be a hero. This work will be incredibly challenging and humbling, and I will have to push myself harder than ever to give my students the education they deserve. I will work in close partnership with the parents, teachers and community members who have been working toward justice and equality long before I arrived.
But I don’t want a job that lets me turn a blind eye to the unfairness kids face every day. I want one that forces me to look inequity in the face and fight it with all my heart. I want one that holds me accountable for the injustices that plague our communities — although I did not create them, I’d still bear responsibility if I chose not to address them.
As I become a Teach For America corps member, I’ll be joining thousands of people working relentlessly to make access to opportunity equitable. As you think about what in the world you’re going to do after you leave here, I hope you’ll join us.
Sofia Vega-Ormeno is a senior marketing and family science major. She can be reached at sofiamvo@terpmail.umd.edu.
