If there is a silver lining in the recent Wall Street meltdown, it may be the opportunity for Dartmouth seniors to pursue postgraduate options they would not have otherwise considered, like Teach For America, according to Monica Wilson, associate director of employer relations. Last Friday marked the end of the second of four rounds for TFA applications.
TFA offers college graduates two-year teaching assignments in low-income communities. It aims to expose graduates to the education gap in the United States, according to Delano Brissett '05, recruitment director for TFA at Dartmouth and several other colleges.
TFA will not release the exact number of Dartmouth applicants until after Feb. 13, the final deadline, Brissett said, but more students applied this round than in the 2007-2008 second round. A May TFA press release noted that more than 3,700 new teachers -- a TFA record -- began teaching this fall. Nationally, TFA placed 30 percent more graduates in teaching positions in 2008 than in 2007, Brissett added, indicating increased interest in the program.
Between 2005 and 2008, the number of TFA applications from Dartmouth seniors has varied, ranging from 4 to 11 percent of the graduating class, according to Brissett. Wilson could not estimate the number of TFA applicants from the College for this round because students apply to the program directly through the TFA web site, and not through her office.
While Brissett would not attribute the increase in applications to the current economic crisis, the downturn does allow students to explore new postgraduate options, Wilson said in an interview.
"We want people to understand that we don't just push students into medical school, law school or business school," Wilson said.
Alternative post-grad opportunities include other education programs, such as the International Education Internship and the Massachusetts Initiative for New Teachers. Students also join service programs, like Green Corps, an environmental activism program, and the Peace Corps, Wilson said.
Peter Kitlas '09 plans to join the Peace Corps after graduation.
"I always knew that I did not want to go out of college straight into some sort of desk job," Kitlas said. "I had done a lot of community service in the past, so I thought joining the Peace Corps would be a good opportunity."
Kitlas has already been nominated to join the Peace Corps to work in youth development programs in the Middle East. He decided to apply to the Peace Corps before the economic downturn, he said.
College graduates have the potential to make major changes in the education systems in low-income communities, according to Clare Fortune-Agan '09, campus campaign coordinator for TFA and a TFA applicant.
"My dad has always worked in education, often with students from low-income communities. When he told me how he had to teach 18-year-olds single digit multiplication tables when working with the Upward Bound program, that really stuck with me," Fortune-Agan said. "I realized your education and preparation for college depend largely on the zip code you are born in. I find that really unfair and I wanted to help change that."