It was the first of many campus involvement fairs for me. I had just started college, and as I walked by rows of tables, older students tried to engage me in conversation about their clubs and programs. I was eager to embrace all that college was about, and I collected brochure after brochure. A table with a banner reading “Teach” caught my attention. I had no plans to go into education, but the person behind the table caught my eye and took advantage of the opportunity to try to recruit me. I smiled and politely declined. Teaching had once been my goal, but now I was decidedly on the path to either a Ph.D. or medical school.
Throughout my childhood, I had loved the idea of working with kids. I remember creating pretend homework for my younger brother and making him do it, just so I could use my red pen to grade it. But somewhere along the way, the desire to pursue teaching was quieted by the nudges to do more. I was always told, “But Shivani, you’re so smart! You could do anything, so why teaching?” My family members and guidance counselors alike pushed me to think about business school, medical school, anything but a career in education. If I really wanted to be in the classroom, they said, I should get a Ph.D. and teach at a university, something that offered higher pay and more prestige.
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