I feel my career route has enhanced my teaching practice and prepared me to provide a unique approach and critical eye towards education. Education has always been at the forefront of my career choices. However, as I transitioned to college, I was guided towards a study of engineering in college and found a new passion in Computer Science. Upon graduation, I found that delivering systems to clients as a technology consultant for Accenture was a rewarding experience but often felt that I could have a greater impact in education. I believe my experiences as a technology consultant have greatly improved my ability to be a teacher leader from multiple perspectives: as a leader and as a consultant.
Throughout my tenure at Accenture, I gained more leadership responsibilities, rising from the role of analyst to senior manager over the 10 years. As a senior manager, I led teams of 20-30 people, setting goals, timelines, and budgets. More importantly, I evaluated personnel to determine the training and motivational needs. I worked with recent college graduates to senior client executives, always adjusting my delivery style based on the audience. I realize now that these soft skills set the stage for a career in education. I used these skills not only to manage my classroom, but also when working with teaching peers, encouraging them to try new techniques.
As a consultant at Accenture, I worked with a team to identify issues within an organization, plan a solution and implement it. I find myself utilizing this same strategy in the school that I teach in. When there is something that isn’t working properly, I focus on understanding what the problem is and finding a solution. I am a problem solver. After 10 years in the corporate world, I returned to the classroom both as a teacher of Mathematics in a private urban high school and as a student in a Mathematics Education masters program. It was incredibly satisfying to help students learn math and achieve their goals. Teaching Computer Science came as a natural extension several years later and allowed me to combine my passions of education and technology.
Always in search of stretching myself and learning new things, I sought out an opportunity to teach Computer Science in Vietnam. The two year teaching experience in an international school enabled me to see other perspectives and understand that “different points of view may be based on an individual’s culture, religion, race, or socioeconomic status”(Katzenmeyer & Moller, 2009, p. 53), an attribute necessary for a teacher leader. I believe change is necessary to continue growth, whether that change is through work experience or a learning experience. I am continuing my growth cycle in the UFL Doctorate of Education program.