Reading Corps doesn’t just offer an opportunity to make an impact on your community, but also can chart you a new course professionally. Just ask Chris, a Reading Corps alum in Vista, California.
“Before I was in AmeriCorps, I was actually a cartographer by trade!” He says. “My educational background is in geography, so I was a graphic designer specifically for maps.”
The work suited Chris, but he never fully settled into the job. During the early months of Covid, his work became more remote and more isolated than it had been before. The thoughts of pursuing a different career got louder, and Chris had “a heart-to-heart” with himself about what he really wanted to do for a living.
“I still wanted more out of my job,” he recalls. “I asked myself, ‘What’s a job where I can really feel like I’m an active part of my community?’”
When he was a kid, Chris had dreamed of being a teacher, and he realized he had to at least give education a try. Cartography would still be there if it didn’t feel right. He began looking for a way to dip his toes into the water and get some education experience when he came across Reading Corps.
Thriving as a Tutor
The chance to work directly with students inside a school was exactly what he had been hoping for, but the service aspect of the program was just as important. At the time he applied, Chris was living in Santa Barbara, the city where he attended college and worked after graduating. He had been in the area for six years and felt it was time to give back to the community that had welcomed him. He joined Reading Corps and knew right away he had made the right choice.
“It was nice to live there as a student, then to finish my time there giving back to the city,” he says. “I felt like a part of the community. The school I was at was very welcoming and made me feel like a big part of the culture.”
Chris spent the 2021-22 school year working with elementary students one-on-one, helping them gain skills and read more proficiently through high-impact tutoring. Looking back, what stands out the most from that time is how building caring relationships with the children not only helped them become better readers, it helped them become more confident students overall.
After a few months as a Reading Tutor, Chris’s long-term plans clicked into place. He began researching master’s programs and teaching certifications.
“I just knew,” he says. “This is the direction I’m going to go. I’m going to become a teacher.’”
From Tutor to Teacher
At the end of the school year, he entered the University of California, Santa Barbara’s teacher education program. From there, he moved a bit down the coast to Vista, California where he began teaching fifth grade. This fall he began his second year at a performing arts magnet school in the city.
Looking back, Chris describes his Reading Corps coaches and program managers as “a support network” that helped to guide his success. He not only learned techniques, but also developed interpersonal skills that continue to help him to connect with his students today.
“I have all of these tangible experiences where I got to know a kid, got to have this great relationship with them, and I saw the payoff of that,” he says. “Now in my classroom of 34 students, I still try to make that happen. They can buy into me as their teacher and into themselves as a learner.”
An Opportunity for Growth and Self-Discovery
Members like Chris prove that it’s never too late to find your pathway to a fulfilling career. If you’ve been curious about getting into education, but you’re not sure where to start, Chris has some advice:
“Reading Corps exposes any aspiring educator to a lot of different facets of education and to get a feel for it. I would definitely recommend it,” he says. “Reading Corps was a great way to start my career.”
Learn how you can make a difference in your community or kick start a career in education through high-impact tutoring at join.readingandmath.org.