Life’s big epiphanies rarely happen in picturesque moments like they do in the movies. But then again, sometimes they do. For Adam, eight years in retail management had been a fine career but left him feeling like there was something more he wanted out of work. Beyond his day job as a manager, Adam also worked part-time as a naturalist at the Minnesota Historical Society. It was there that he had a realization that changed his life forever.
“It was at a nature-based history center. I was working a summer job doing some curriculum development and I got to actually teach the curriculum to a bunch of second graders,” says Adam. “I was sitting out there in the woods on this log, teaching these second graders about the cycle of trees. And I thought ‘Ohhh, I should look at becoming a teacher.’”
He found a graduate program to earn his teaching license and enrolled. The program would help Adam get the official certification he needed to find a job, but he also wanted to get some more hands-on experience before jumping into teaching. Reading Corps service was just what he had been hoping for.
Three Years, Three Different Positions
Adam spent the 2012-13 school year tutoring students at Myers-Wilkins Elementary in Duluth. Serving as Reading Tutor at the school was unlike anything he had done before. However, thanks to the thorough training and constant support from his internal coach, Adam thrived in the role.
“I developed great connections with the principal, with the students, and with fellow teachers,” he says. Now a teacher himself, he especially appreciates the opportunity to develop soft skills like relationship building and communication. “Getting to spend that that one-on-one time and finding out where their difficulties were coming in, that was really amazing: just to see the power of what a tutor can do.”
After a year as a Reading Corps tutor, Adam moved onto student teaching, which he was fortunate to do right at Myers-Wilkins. In the spring of 2014, he wrapped up his student teaching and became fully licensed to teach in Minnesota. However, Adam still felt like there was more he could learn from tutoring, so he returned to AmeriCorps, only this time as a member of Math Corps.
The program swap worked out perfectly. Adam got to stay at the same school, surrounded by the staff and teachers he knew, all while getting to branch out by supporting new students in a new subject. He recalls how the program manager and coach provided daily assistance as he built up the skills he would need as a future teacher.
“[My coach] was just an awesome resource in developing those relationships with those kids who kind of didn’t think they were good at math,” says Adam. “We found ways to not only deliver the lessons but make it really fun!”
Beginning His New Career
As the end of the school year neared, Adam’s principal approached him about staying on at Myers-Wilkins Elementary in a new role: a full-time teacher. She had been considering adding another 5th grade classroom and asked if Adam would be interested in teaching.
“I would not be here doing what I’m doing without that experience in Reading Corps and Math Corps,” he says, glowing with the memory.
Adam will celebrate his 10th year teaching in the district this fall. He credits the staff at Myers-Wilkins and Math Corps for helping him launch a new career, describing his AmeriCorps experience as an “apprenticeship.” It didn’t hurt that he went from tutoring 4th graders to teaching 5th graders at the same school: Adam’s first classroom featured a lot of familiar faces. These days Adam teaches at a different elementary school in Duluth, but still in a 5th grade classroom.
“I’ve just really developed a passion for teaching those kids and working with those families,” he says. “It’s really amazing how much they need us and how much we need them too.”
Passing the Torch
Bringing his experience full circle, Adam’s current school has its own Reading Corps and Math Corps tutors. He has found a unique joy in getting to be a mentor to the newest generation of tutors. One of their current tutors is even pursuing a career in education, just like he was ten years ago.
Looking back, Adam is grateful for all the ways that AmeriCorps service laid the foundation for a career he cherishes. He would “absolutely” recommend Reading Corps or Math Corps to anyone, whether they plan on becoming a teacher or not.
“Even if you don’t become a teacher, you’re always going to look back and say, ‘I got to understand the world a little bit better,’” says Adam. “It gives you such an amazing perspective. It can be transformative.”
Want to gain an amazing new perspective while supporting local students? Visit join.readingandmath.org to learn more and explore opportunities to tutor near you.