Career Path of a Learning Specialist at California Middle School
Dan's career path reflects a commitment to "impact[ing] the lives of young people," blending passions for sports, arts, and writing. After college, where they juggled these interests with an internship assisting high school students' writing, they followed a mentor's advice to not choose between passions and joined Teach for America, leading to six years of teaching in the Bronx and California.
Career Exploration, Overcoming Challenges, Motivational Stories, Career Development, Teaching
Advizer Information
Name
Job Title
Company
Undergrad
Grad Programs
Majors
Industries
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Traits
Dan McCauley
Learning Specialist
California Middle School
New York University, 2017
Relay Graduate School of Education, Masters in the Art of Teaching
Education
Education
Education
Former Foster Youth, Honors Student, Scholarship Recipient, Pell Grant Recipient, Took Out Loans, Worked 20+ Hours in School
Video Highlights
1. Dan's passion for sports, arts, and writing influenced his career path, demonstrating that diverse interests can be integrated into a fulfilling career.
2. Dan's mentor encouraged him not to limit himself to a single career path, highlighting the value of exploring multiple interests.
3. Dan's experience as an intern working with high school students solidified his passion for impacting young people's lives, leading him to a career in teaching and ultimately his current role as a Learning Specialist.
Transcript
Dan, could you walk me through your career path, starting with your experiences in college and any internships or jobs you had prior to your current role as a resource specialist? Specifically, could you share about how you landed that first job?
Growing up, sports and the arts in my community were so important to me. Going through high school and eventually getting to college, I asked myself, "What do I do now?"
I remembered an old mentor, also named Dan, reminding me, "Why do I have to choose between the things I care about?" So, in college, I continued to do the things I loved. I wrote, coached sports part-time, and consistently attended arts festivals.
I also worked with kids as an intern, helping them with writing in high school. Whether it was on the baseball field, in a college residence hall as an RA, or in other situations, I realized impacting the lives of young people was really important to me.
This led me to the same challenge when graduating undergrad: "What do I choose?" I remembered my mentor asking, "Why do you have to?" Then, one of my old public school teachers told me these loves for sports and art could be integrated into my life as a teacher.
So, I applied to Teach for America. Ever since then, I've been teaching. I taught two years in the Bronx, where I grew up, and then I moved out here to California. This is my sixth year teaching.
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