Now What?

In two months, my two-year commitment to TFA will end. I've been all-consumed the last four months in what I will do next. Should I go to law school? Should I stay in the classroom? Should I study abroad? Should I work for a campaign?

These are all things I want to do... eventually. I applied to several law/grad schools in September and I'm still waiting to hear back from some of them. In the interim, I've thought a lot about what I want to do before starting a legal career.

I ultimately came to this--what's the rush? Why rush to law school if I more-or-less know what the career-track will look like after three years in legal study... job at a firm, work my way up the career ladder, etc. At some point, I'd like to enter politics/policy and want to be able to rely on solid work experience prior to law school. While my time with TFA has given me many passionate ideas about change that needs to happen, two years in the classroom is simply not enough of the experience that feel I need. There's still a lot of good work to be done on behalf of my students, their peers, and their families.

So, I'm committing myself to two more years in education. I've applied for several positions--one as a content specialist at my school and the other as a program director with TFA--that will each allow me to make a larger impact than can be made in a single classroom and will keep me on the front lines of education reform. Both of these opportunities would also allow me a different perspective on education reform, which will ultimately better prepare me to serve as an advocate for that much-needed reform.

Depending on what happens, I could remain in Houston or move to Las Vegas, Atlanta or New Orleans. I'll keep you updated...