By Chris Kaleel  on Sun 12 Feb - 0 Comments
Categories: Careers, Education, Jobs & Career

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Tell us about your journey with TFA and what you learned about the challenges/opportunities in improving US education. 

Growing up in the rural South and having gone to a low-performing public school, I understood a small part of the challenge but had no idea about the immense scope of the problem in our country.  Teaching in an urban area, the issues looked a bit different from what I experienced growing up, but the main challenges – limited resources, complacency, low expectations – were the same.  I learned that there is no silver-bullet answer to solving this massive problem but that what must happen is for leaders across sectors to recognize they can and should be part of the ongoing solution process.

 Why did you decide to go to business school?

 I loved my job and the work I did before (two years in the classroom and five years on Teach For America’s national staff) but also wanted to learn some of the skills that made people in the private sector successful, so the MBA seemed the logical next step.

What was your favorite course or the course you learned the most in? What has been your most meaningful opportunity you've engaged in outside the classroom? 

I loved BGIE (Business, Government and the International Economy) because I felt that I walked away with concrete skills and a better understanding of the world.  I also loved the Leading and Governing High-Performing Non Profits class I took last semester and learned a great deal about the sector I was actually in (which was a nice bonus).  I’m currently in the Entrepreneurship in Education Reform class at HBS, and it’s awesome – great to be fired up by an HBS class! 

You're going to work at McKinsey, what prompted your switch from the nonprofit sector? How challenging has it been to switch sectors?

McKinsey was attractive to me in that I felt the people I met there approached their work in the same way people at Teach For America do – it’s all about impact.  They are advisers to nearly every type of organization you can imagine, and that breadth was exciting to me given how much I think can learn there.  Switching sectors can be tricky, but I took advantage of every CPD resource, read all of the prep books, did practice cases, attended events, you name it!  My summer experience was a nice entrée into what the work full time might be, and I liked it a lot.

How do you see consulting fitting into your long term plans for social change?

McKinsey actually does quite a bit of social sector consulting work (and much of that in education) so I could see myself working on social sector projects in the future.  At the same time, I want to figure out a way to make an impact beyond our educational system  - either through poverty alleviation, civil rights work or social and economic issues close to where I grew up.  I’m not sure exactly what all of this will look like but am excited to work toward it!