UCSB Grad Finds Two-Year Calling

Teaching for America in the Bronx

by Sandy Escobedo

Greetings from the Bronx, New York. My name is Sandy Escobedo and I currently teach Pre-K bilingual students through Teach for America. I graduated from UC Santa Barbara in June 2003 with a degree in art history and minors in French and history. During my tenure at UCSB, I studied abroad in Bordeaux, France through the UC Education Abroad Program, interned at the Smithsonian through the UC Washington Center Program (UCDC), and was a part of the College of Letters and Sciences Honors Program. Like many UCSB students, I was concerned about the daunting task of figuring out what to do after graduation.

Teach for America is a nonprofit organization that recruits recently graduated college students and places them in some of the country's toughest schools with the goal of closing the achievement gap. Selected applicants (called corps members) commit themselves to teaching for two years. If you anticipate being accepted into graduate or professional school, it will help to know that many prestigious law schools, medical schools, as well as public policy programs agree to defer your admission for the time you commit yourself to teaching.

I decided to join Teach For America for the same reason many others join; I wanted to become an active player in ensuring that all students in this country have access to an equal education. My reason for joining Teach for America has not changed, although my approach in doing so has. Slowly but surely, I am letting go some of the idealism that I came in with and replacing it with ambition and drive.

The school I work in is located in one of the poorest congressional districts in the United States. I say this not to strike pity in your hearts but rather to challenge you to go beyond what we've read about and discussed in our courses in UCSB and actually witness it for yourself and become someone with the ability to empower these students. As students in the Honors Program, we are more than willing to go the extra mile academically, but are we willing to do so outside of academia?

Most importantly, I encourage you to take a minute out of your day to evaluate your experience at UCSB thus far and juxtapose it with the fact that you could have been denied the opportunities you have enjoyed if your education prior to going to college was substandard. Reflecting upon all the wonderful opportunities I've had in through Honors program and at UCSB motivates me even further to do what I do. Even though I teach Pre-K, it is never too early to begin instilling in students the value of a good education. My experiences have influenced my teaching style; my students are not only learning to count in English and in Spanish, they are also learning to in French!

What you will do with your life after UCSB can be a touchy subject with friends, and especially with parents! For more information about Teach for America, visit www.teachforamerica.org. If you would like to speak with me, contact Regina Fletcher and she could forward you my contact information. Good luck with all future endeavors at UCSB.

Sandy Escobedo graduated from UCSB with B.A. in art history in spring 2003.

Related Article: UCSB Grads Shine in Teach for America

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