RSSTeach for America recruitment, applications increase on campus
By Elaine Hardenstine
Issue date: 2/6/09 Section: News
Schools such as Duke, New York University and George Washington can even boast TFA is their No. 1 employer, according to the same article.
Katie Graul, '09, a campus campaign coordinator for TFA, encourages students to apply for the program. She said some Lehigh students are not confident they can make a difference.
"I hear a lot of 'this is too hard to get in to, so I'm not even going to apply' from Lehigh students," she said. "They are just not sure of themselves."
Lehigh presents an additional challenge to TFA representatives used to recruiting at predominately liberal arts schools. At Lehigh, where most students "have a pretty set life path," according to Graul, it can be difficult to interest them in a different calling. "They think, 'I came to be a Lehigh engineer or an accountant," she said. "It can be hard for them to pull off course."
But TFA, which is eager to bring in students from a university like Lehigh, wants to turn the trend around. This year, for the first time, Lehigh has two on-campus representatives and a recruitment director, TR Straub, who visits a couple times a month.
"We really ramped up recruitment," Graul said.
The purpose is to further grow TFA's market and increase awareness of the program's benefits and success stories.
Graul said she is constantly hanging up posters and contacting heads of on campus organizations, in an attempt to get the word out about TFA. Her efforts seem to be successful. In mid-September, Straub spoke at a meeting to 60 students. Last year, the same meeting attracted only 20 people.
Thirty-one Lehigh students have already submitted applications to TFA this year. As of this article, 83 more have started applications. Representatives are excited: one deadline remains, Feb. 13, yet they have already surpassed previous applications rates.
Last year, eight Lehigh students were accepted into the program, Straub said.
An increase in applicants may be due to the worsening economic situation, yet Graul claims the interview process will weed out anyone who applies just to avoid finding a job. "The interviewers are selective," she said. "Preparation is designed to challenge and get rid of people who don't really want to be there."
Katie Graul, '09, a campus campaign coordinator for TFA, encourages students to apply for the program. She said some Lehigh students are not confident they can make a difference.
"I hear a lot of 'this is too hard to get in to, so I'm not even going to apply' from Lehigh students," she said. "They are just not sure of themselves."
Lehigh presents an additional challenge to TFA representatives used to recruiting at predominately liberal arts schools. At Lehigh, where most students "have a pretty set life path," according to Graul, it can be difficult to interest them in a different calling. "They think, 'I came to be a Lehigh engineer or an accountant," she said. "It can be hard for them to pull off course."
But TFA, which is eager to bring in students from a university like Lehigh, wants to turn the trend around. This year, for the first time, Lehigh has two on-campus representatives and a recruitment director, TR Straub, who visits a couple times a month.
"We really ramped up recruitment," Graul said.
The purpose is to further grow TFA's market and increase awareness of the program's benefits and success stories.
Graul said she is constantly hanging up posters and contacting heads of on campus organizations, in an attempt to get the word out about TFA. Her efforts seem to be successful. In mid-September, Straub spoke at a meeting to 60 students. Last year, the same meeting attracted only 20 people.
Thirty-one Lehigh students have already submitted applications to TFA this year. As of this article, 83 more have started applications. Representatives are excited: one deadline remains, Feb. 13, yet they have already surpassed previous applications rates.
Last year, eight Lehigh students were accepted into the program, Straub said.
An increase in applicants may be due to the worsening economic situation, yet Graul claims the interview process will weed out anyone who applies just to avoid finding a job. "The interviewers are selective," she said. "Preparation is designed to challenge and get rid of people who don't really want to be there."
Viewing Comments 1 - 2 of 3
Nancy Edelmann
posted 2/06/09 @ 6:15 PM EST
The young man, TR, who is highlighted in this article, sounds intelligent and caring and seems to truly represent the change that an organization like TFA can make. (Continued…)
WhyALawyer
posted 2/08/09 @ 1:36 AM EST
See this is why Math for America is much more useful than Teach for America. With Math for America, we're guiding kids along the way to become mathematicians and scientists, not white-collared parasites. (Continued…)
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