Simpsonian

Issue date: 2/7/08 Section: Perspectives

Nicole Cleveringa/Copy Editor

If you would have asked me four years ago what I'd be doing after graduating from college, I would have told you "law school" without hesitation. It's amazing how much can change in such little time. Simpson has taken me on quite a journey!

I didn't like my political science classes nearly as much as I anticipated and all of my well-laid plans of law school and a large paycheck were dashed.

By spring break of my junior year, I was getting a little worried as to what I was going to do with my new English major. The last thing I wanted to do was go home to incessant questioning.

A few days before spring break, I received an e-mail from the RLC advertising a few open spots for spring break trips. A mission trip wasn't necessarily my ideal "break," but it wasn't home. Without knowing who was going or what I would even be doing, I responded to the e-mail, and a few days later I was on a journey to the Mississippi Gulf Coast.

After a week of viewing the damage of Hurricane Katrina, making some amazing friends and gaining some valuable insight on life, I came back to campus revitalized.

I decided to take a chance on another mission trip, this time to Jamaica with people I barely knew, and again, had a wonderful experience.

When I returned from my summer jaunt to Jamaica, I realized that it was the happiest I had ever been. I wanted to do something like that for the rest of my life…but what?

After a little research, I applied to the Peace Corps and a program called Teach for America.

Everyone knows what the Peace Corps is--27 months in a foreign country teaching, implementing various programs and making better lives for people in various communities.

Teach for America is a little different. Those accepted are placed in an inner city or rural failing school in hopes of decreasing educational inequity. Placements range from inner city Los Angeles to the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota.

After numerous rounds of interviewing for both positions, I found out I was accepted into the Peace Corps to teach English as a second language in Eastern Europe. The Teach for America process took a bit longer, but after great anticipation, I found out I was accepted as an elementary school teacher in Kansas City, Mo.

After some long talks with the family and a lot of thought, Teach for America was the decision.

Continued...

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