Kathleen
was a member of Troop 105 out of Fairport, New York and received her Gold Award
in the spring of 1989. She is a Senior Managing Director on Teach For
America’s human assets team, and works outside of Boston, Massachusetts, where
she lives with her husband and 4-year-old daughter.
When
and why did you decide on a career in education?
Learning
has always been a passion of mine. This started very early in my life and was
certainly fostered by being raised in a loving household by parents who
understood the joy and power that comes from getting a great education. My
brother and I always assumed we would not only go to college, but would also
earn graduate degrees. It was in Girl Scouts and then in college, where I had
experiences that highlighted that these opportunities were not available to
everyone. Access to education was something I valued but very much took
for granted.
Music was
one of my most passionate areas of study. My interests in music and the arts
led to a fascination with the business end of it all, so I started working
in non-profit and for-profit education, mostly in development, marketing and
human resources. I joined Teach For America’s staff in 2005, and was one
of the first members of our human assets team. My focus is making sure
that our 2000+ staff members thrive and lead at Teach For America. Supporting
their efforts is an important part of the critical work that we are doing to
create positive change in communities across the country.
Both
Girl Scouts and Teach For America are about leadership and change. How
did your Girl Scout experience translate into your current experience?
Many
people think of leadership as something intimidating. A leader is big,
powerful, and charismatic. That has never felt like me. But I think
what was so wonderful about Girl Scouts is that it gave me a multitude of
models of amazing leadership, and allowed me to really understand myself and my
strengths, while also challenging me in ways that I never realized I could be
strong. I was a pretty shy child, and I found myself having the
opportunity to test myself and lead others in a way that was very uniquely
mine.
My Gold
Award project foreshadowed the work that I now do. It was focused on bringing music to a variety
of underserved populations in my community, and connected the performers with
the participants. I feel like that was the beginning of what is very
meaningful to me in my day to day work – making a difference, giving back, and
building lasting partnerships built on mutual respect and trust.
What
skills and/or characteristics did you learn as a Girl Scout that you still use
today?
There are
so many! I think first off, my time in Girl Scouts contributed to my love
of learning, which is such a big part of how I work and live my life. It took
this love of learning and helped me take my passions and strengths and apply them
in new ways, growing my self-confidence and leadership skill by facing
experiences may be unfamiliar or challenging.
My senior
troop had a focus on canoeing, which I loved, but they competed and I had never
done that before. We trained each spring as soon as we could get outside
and competed in a regatta every Memorial Day weekend, which really emphasized
my discipline and work ethic strengths, as well as my ability to build strong
relationships – you need to really know and trust your partner and team when
you are racing down rapids!
Girl
Scouts also gave me a better understanding of diversity and my place in this
very unique world. It gave me the sense of humility, of duty and
obligation along with the self-confidence, leadership and love of service to be
able to act on them. And clearly it was the start of my love of service and my
desire to see that as an important part of my life’s work.
In your opinion, why do you think a Girl
Scout would make a good Teach For America corps member?
Girl Scouts have a unique combination of perseverance,
humility and leadership, which our corps members need to succeed in the
classroom. Inherent in the program is a
true love for education and learning, which would translate wonderfully to
working as a teacher. It is a natural fit!
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Girl Scouts is proud to be a
national partner of Teach For America.
Teach For America corps members commit to teach for two
years in 48 regions across the country. They work
relentlessly to lead their students to the academic success that can put them
on a dramatically different life path. You can be one of the thousands of
leaders committed to achieving educational excellence for all. You can shape
our future. Learn more about why you should join the corps.
Join the movement and apply to the 2013 Teach For America corps.
Next Application Deadline: This
Friday, October 25, 2013.