Supported to launch

As a classroom teacher I often felt like my autonomy and creativity was limited. I was looking to have a larger impact beyond the walls of a classroom, and I was really drawn to Penn GSE’s Teaching, Learning, and Leadership program in particular because I felt like it opened up so many different pathways for me.

An education entrepreneurship course that I took with Amanda Antico had a profound impact on me. I had been thinking about ways I could create change in the community through education, and I started to see a structure to make it a reality. As I created Start Lighthouse, a nonprofit addressing literacy needs in the Bronx, I kept coming back to lessons from that class, which helped me design my idea, refine it, and pitch it to potential collaborators.

I also had the opportunity to work with Ryan Baker on a research project, and that’s when I fell in love with data and the way it can be used to inform choices and tell stories. This led me to step out of the classroom to pursue a data role with Success Academy looking at how we can use data to drive instructional practice. I apply the same ideas within my own organization as we think about how we can better serve students and families within our community.

I found a supportive and welcoming environment at Penn GSE. Our Program Manager, Veronica Aplenc, went out of her way to cultivate community within the program. She helped bridge our cultural differences and set norms for us in terms of why we were here, what we each had to offer, and what could we bring into the greater conversation. I met some of my greatest friends through the program itself, and I’ve still been able to keep in touch. As soon as I was thinking I was ready to launch Start Lighthouse, I reached out to this new Penn GSE network and they rallied behind me. My program manager, my professors, and my peers all offered me recommendations, people they thought I should speak to, they reviewed my organization model, and we continue to collaborate. Having this community to fall back on and guide me, has really gotten me to where I am today.

I wouldn’t be where I am today if I hadn’t pursued my master’s at Penn GSE. The year I had during grad school, was so influential in my development. I still can’t get over the fact that I had access to the faculty, who are so distinguished and accomplished. To be able to go to office hours, to work alongside them on a research project, just having those opportunities and the access I was awarded was incredible. I never felt like an outsider there. I was always worried about imposter syndrome, but the community that was built, it grabs you as you walk in and exposes you to what is possible.