Kate Wood

I attribute much of my success to my mentors who challenged me in ways that were formative. There were moments of real struggle, but I rose to the occasion each time. Looking back, even on the days I disagreed with my mentors, they were right.

I think having good-faith belief in the leaders you trust is essential. You don't have to agree with every direction you're given — but see it through. More often than not, the reasoning becomes clear in hindsight.

I'm also resilient, sometimes stubbornly so. During one particularly difficult semester of graduate school, I told my husband I couldn't continue. He asked me to commit to one more semester, and if things were just as hard, he would fully support my decision to leave. That next semester wasn't nearly as difficult. Had I quit at the hardest moment, that would have become my story.

If you push a little further, it gets lighter. The hardest periods are often just the threshold of growth — you have to give yourself the time and grace to get through them.

The best career advice I've been offered is this: we are changing lives, not saving them. Things may be urgent, but they are not emergencies — so take care of yourself. Treat milestones as manageable commitments, and keep pushing forward even in the hardest seasons.

My best advice is to be willing to learn while doing. Many people wait until they fully understand every component before taking action but in this career, and in many others, real learning happens through experience. Be willing to take risks, make mistakes, and move forward with the best information you have in the moment. In education, you are surrounded by colleagues and leaders who want you to succeed, because ultimately, we are all here for the children. That support system exists to help you recognize missteps, course-correct, and grow. But if you wait until you feel completely ready, you may never start. Done imperfectly is better than not done at all. Perfectionism is its own barrier progress, even partial progress, is still progress.

A major challenge in education is teacher retention, particularly among early-career educators who often leave the profession within their first five years. Compounding this is the reality that education policy is frequently written by those outside the classroom, resulting in mandates that may be disconnected from the day-to-day realities of teaching-and often without the funding necessary to implement them meaningfully. Navigating these systemic pressures, while also managing adult-learner resistance among colleagues and meeting the developmental needs of adolescent students, requires both resilience and adaptability.

Resilience, perseverance, a commitment to learning by doing, trust in effective leadership, and a student-centered approach guide both my professional and personal life.