Claire Go

I attribute my success to mentors, people that have been there, and I've listened to, and I've taken their advice. The reason why I'm at USC is because I was advised by my mentor, advisor, in my master's program. She really pushed me to apply, and so I did. So I think my success would be because of people who have paved the way for me, helping me see what I can do or what I can step into. It's about having people who extend their hands out to help, and knowing where to go to ask for help.

The best advice I received is don't take no for an answer. It might sound cliche, but it's worked for me. Whether you're stubborn, or you just truly believe in yourself that you can do it and others just don't see it yet because they don't see you shine just yet. There have been other people in my past that have doubted me, and I think that's what's keeping me pushing forward.

I would say if this is really what you want to do, if your heart is really set out to do this, and your heart's in it, and you get up in the morning, and this is what you want to do, you're excited to do it, then that's all it takes, is just 100% effort. And know where to go to ask for help. There are individuals out there who would extend their hands out to us, females. You just gotta be resourceful and know where to go. And you can't take no for an answer, you just keep pushing. There's always a way around certain issues. If there's a blockage, then find another way until you get to your destination.

The biggest challenge in my field is that there's a shortage of good, competent teachers, and there's a huge lack of resources to make our job easier. We need high quality, better quality teaching materials. For instance, in my school, some students have to wait because we don't have enough laptops for them to use because some of them are losing keys and are just non-functional. It's kind of hard to have kids complete what you're supposed to do when there's a shortage of even that. But it goes deeper than just technology. We also have an increasing number of teachers who are leaving the field because they're not getting the assistance that they need in the classroom. The students are just really losing interest in investing in themselves, in investing in education. When they show up in the classroom, the attention, the interaction is not there. They're not motivated to learn, they're not putting in the time and the effort. I think the biggest obstacle in education is the severe teacher burnout, especially for new teachers.

In my profession, you really have to have the heart for it. Working with students nowadays can be challenging, but you really gotta be patient. You have to be patient, you have to go through the struggle and embrace the struggle, because when you get out the other end, the appreciation will just be much more valuable. If you come across an obstacle or a struggle, just face it and rise above it and come out the other side with all the lessons learned. That goes for personal life, too, both personal and professional life. Some people run from problems, and the problems follow them, whether it's professional, and they end up running over people. But it's those same people that can help you through if you just use your resources right. So I don't run away from problems, I face it head-on, and I work through it, and I use it as a lesson.