Her Story
About Georgia
I began my career in the corporate world, working in the banking industry and then as a Senior Financial Analyst with Visiting Nurse Service of New York. During my third year with that company, there was a high demand for teachers in New York City, which led me to transition from the corporate world into the teaching field. I've been teaching for 21 years now, and in that capacity, I currently serve as a Peer Collaborative Teacher, or LEAD Teacher, in my school. I do staff development, mentorship, and act as the liaison with the administrative staff, including the principal and assistant principal. I'm also the CTE lead at our CTE-focused school, which is one of the largest departments in our school, ensuring we meet certification requirements and supporting teachers with their curriculum and pedagogy. Additionally, I teach the computer science course in the Future Ready New York City program and serve as the coordinator for the program, as well as the liaison with the colleges we partner with. I earned my doctorate degree, which I completed out of state, and it really opened my eyes to so much I didn't know about the nuances of education and administration. What drives me every day is knowing that I can make a difference with kids that look like me. As someone of color, I want to make sure they can see themselves through me, see my achievements, and look forward to doing the same. I'm proud to say I just had a scholar who, about seven years ago, told me he wanted to achieve his doctorate, and he just graduated with it. The daily success I see in the classroom and when my scholars come back to tell me how I've impacted their lives is my biggest achievement.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Georgia
01What do you attribute your success to?
I think it's my persistence and want to make sure the scholars that I serve excel in anything they want to do. That is what keeps me coming back every day. I am on them to do everything - I call them, I bother them, I call their parents, I bother their parents. They know I do it routinely, so it's not a once and done, it's every weekend, twice sometimes for the week. It means something to them, because they will find me to say, miss, I did the work, I did it. They check in with me and say, how are you doing, miss, if they notice that I just seem a bit off. I know I'm making a difference, and I see it when they come back and remind me of what I said to them, or even to ask me for help. A lot of them come back for financial help, because I do teach financial literacy, and they'll say, oh, I want to do this, what should I do? What do you think? Just knowing that they still remember these things makes a big difference to me.
02What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
I would say don't give up during your first year. You have to be patient, you have to be tolerant, you have to learn to multitask. Just know that it gets better over the years. So don't give up during your first year of teaching, just be persistent and persistent. As teachers, we have to be social workers, we multitask in many different ways, not just lesson planning which takes up your weekends and grading papers on the weekend, but we deal with a lot of the emotional stuff that I think people don't even realize. Kids can come in and be mad at the world, and be mad at you one day, and may say something really disrespectful and hurtful to you. But you can't live in that moment, you have to get past it. Those are the things that I think you have to just be very strong about, and not take it personal. Don't take it personal any day, just know it's just a moment in time, and it was just said without any meaning or context, and just move on the next day.
03What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
I think we deal with a lot as teachers. We have to be social workers, we multitask in many different ways, not just lesson planning which takes up your weekends and grading papers on the weekend, but we deal with a lot of the emotional stuff that I think people don't even realize. Kids can come in and be mad at the world, and be mad at you one day, and may say something really disrespectful and hurtful to you. But you can't live in that moment, you have to get past it. Those are the things that I think you have to just be very strong about, and not take it personal. What we see is teachers who give up because you have to be patient, you have to be tolerant, you have to learn to multitask. On the opportunity side, I'm glad to say that the shift is once again focused in on CTE programs, and how they can benefit the scholar, and how those scholars can in turn contribute to the economy of New York City. So I'm glad to see that there's a shift back to that.
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