Like many people in Montclair's MAT program, becoming a high school math teacher is my second career. Growing up, I always wanted to be a math teacher, but I ended up graduating from Penn State University with a degree in Management/Human Resources instead of a teaching degree. For the 5 years between undergrad and grad school I worked for two healthcare companies. Most recently, I worked at Johnson & Johnson recruiting students to work for my company. It was a great job, but I wanted to be passionate about my job/career and I wasn't.
So one day I was sitting by the pool and had one of "those moments" that I'll never forget when I decided to change my life and become a high school math teacher. I packed up my pool gear and started to research how to become a teacher. Less than a year later, I quit my job and started grad school at MSU.
Even though it's been almost 2 years since I've earned a real income (that's been tough), I'm confident that I made the right decision to change careers. I observed a high school classroom last semester and felt excitement for a job that I never experienced before. Every day, I left the school feeling completely energized. My hope is that this passion will continue once teaching is my full-time job!
Are there seasoned teachers out there who haven't lost their passion? I hope so!
