For Penn seniors facing a struggling economy when they apply for jobs, making plans for the future is challenging.
But on Wednesday evening, Penn graduate Michael Feinberg offered a simple solution: Teach for America.
Teach for America is a national organization that places recent college graduates in underprivileged public schools. The program requires a two- year teaching commitment from each participant, but Feinberg said the experience is invaluable.
"You have the opportunity to make an immediate impact on children's lives," Feinberg said. "The impact it is possible to make as an individual is limitless."
Feinberg, a 1992 Teach for America participant and 1991 College graduate, addressed roughly 40 students in an Irvine Auditorium conference room Tuesday evening. He urged Penn seniors to consider teaching as a full-time profession.
College senior Zarin Tejanir has already been accepted into the program for next year.
"I'll be getting real-world experience before going on to graduate school," Tejani said. "The program reaches out to people who wouldn't normally make teaching a career choice."
College senior Victoria Gamble also said that Teach for America was a good alternative to finding a permanent career, especially in a faltering economic climate.
"It's a good way to ease my way in rather than jumping right into the job market," Gamble said. "This is the time to do something like this."
Feinberg admitted he did not consider Teach for America until late in his senior year. He had planned to go to law school but decided he wanted to do something different first.
"I decided to jump on this movement train and change something," Feinberg said.
Feinberg continued in the education movement even after his two years in the Teach for America program expired.
"We decided we'd quit when we truly made a difference," he said. "There's still a lot of work to be done."
Feinberg is also the co-founder and chief executive officer of the Knowledge is Power Program, an organization that runs several public schools nationwide.
The Knowledge is Power Program schools are run during non-traditional hours -- requiring that their students attend classes in the afternoon, on weekends and during the summertime. The program has been recognized nationally as producing outstanding results.
When asked how Feinberg finds the energy to keep working he answered simply, "The kids."
Feinberg later added, "If they're going to make such an effort, who the hell am I not to make this kind of effort too?"
Teach for America has already accepted 11 Penn students for the 2002 corps. The final application deadline is Feb. 21.
