
Upon my graduating from Minnewaska Area High School


While in college I pursued a degree in Marketing (Carlson School of Management) with minors in Mass Communications (School of Journalism) and Leadership (Collaboration among the College of Education and human Development, the Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs, and the Office for Student Affairs). My interests of study revolve around advertising, marketing strategy, consumer psychology, and leadership.

I had a couple ideas as to what I wanted to do when I graduated from college. I was very interested in going back to work for Target, a company I had worked for the summer before as a Business Analyst Intern, or pursuing a career in consulting. During my job search, or I guess I could say "career search," I began to have second thoughts as to what I really wanted to do when I graduated.
I was uncomfortable signing on with Target because it just seemed too logical to me. It would have been a safe and comfortable choice. I had really liked everyone I had worked with inside the company and enjoyed my time there, but I was still a little unsure if that is where I wanted to be

I wanted to pursue a job I could be passionate about. I wanted a job that I could be proud to tell my friends and family I do, and a job where I could feel my effort was going to something more than just making money. I really wanted to "make a difference," but I wasn't sure how.
I had heard about a program called Teach For America a couple times from some friends and decided that if everyone else thinks it would be such a good fit for me... that I should probably check it out. I went to an information session about Teach For America and was really interested. As a business student, with current job offers, I was a little hesitant to think that Teach For America would be a viable option for a career after school, but soon realized that I wanted to take the risk.

During the Fall/Winter of my senior year in college I had the great opportunity to coach wrestling at Saint Paul Johnson High School. My experiences while at Johnson helped to confirm my desire to work for Teach For America. I was really motivated by the growth I was able to see in the members of our team and how much I could really effect the lives of these students. Teaching was something I could really be passionate about...

After an extensive interview process I was informed that I had been accepted as part of Teach For America. I will be a corps member in Houston, Texas starting in June, where I will begin my summer institute. This is when my Life After College will begin...