The need for a fulfilling career that gives back is deeply ingrained in many of the men and women who have left the military. Often, veterans express the need to continue serving their country.
Recently, this came to the attention of Teach For America, an organization formed in 1990, which aims to bring leaders from all walks of life into the classroom by training them as teachers and placing them in two-year contracts in schools in low-income areas. The corps currently has around 2,000 members.
Vanessa Descalzi, TFA’s national communications director, says that from 2009 to 2012, they noticed a huge spike in applications from those leaving the military. The organization felt compelled to identify what was driving the trend.
“We saw an amazing increase in applications from veterans from all branches, including the Marines, the Army and the U.S. Coast Guard. We realized that when veterans come home from service, their desire to serve their country doesn’t go away,” Descalzi says. “Veterans were happy to be in the private sector when they first got home, but later they felt a hole and wondered about their purpose.”
With a looming teacher shortage by the year 2020, it’s no wonder TFA listened. Launched in 2012, You Served For America, Now Teach For America is looking to recruit veterans with bachelor degrees and a 2.5 minimum grade point average. Veterans start with a five-week training institute that includes courses on lesson planning, creating presentations and general classroom preparation.
Shaun T. Murphy, a TFA corps member alumni and former human resources specialist in the U.S. Army, was hired to comb through the pool of applicants as the program’s manager of military recruitment.
Murphy left the Army in 2006 but felt a desire to continue serving. He applied to the TFA and accepted a position to teach English and math.
“In 2009, we saw a bump of veterans, even without any recruitment efforts,” says Murphy. “That’s when I was brought on board.”
A year into the program, Murphy and his team had recruited over 100 servicemen and women to teach in 48 regions across the country.
One of those veterans is Raheim Smith, who now teaches at Brooklyn’s Passages Academy, an alternative school offering a second chance to students with criminal backgrounds. Smith himself came from a childhood of homelessness in North Amityville, Long Island. He decided to join the military at age 17 to make something of his life.
“I didn’t have the money to go to college. I made the decision in order to help my family and better myself to go into the military,” Smith says.
Smith served as a cannon crewmember of the 10th Mountain Division, the most deployed unit in the military.
After being discharged in 2006, Smith attended Arizona State University, graduating in 2010 with a degree in political science. He entered a career on Wall Street, which was good for his bank account but left him unfulfilled. That’s when he decided to get back to helping people.
Now, his proudest work is enriching the lives of his students.
“I have a student who only scored 21 on a math test. She was very upset about it and she wouldn’t allow anyone to talk to her about it,” Smith says.
He wrote her note telling her that at one time he wasn’t very good in math. He promised her that her grades would improve if she accepted his help.
“We studied for 20 minutes every day. By the time she took the test again, she passed. On one test she got 70, and on a later test she scored 85. Every single day, she gets better,” he says.
Smith says being a teacher is more than just teaching algebra, it’s about creating better people.
“I’m a leader. The students look to me for structure and accountability,” he says. “I made a commitment to teach. I’m a military man. When I set on a mission, I finish it. My goal now is to continue teaching.”