“I would never have known that teaching was something that I wanted to do for the rest of my career if I didn’t have the opportunity during Virginia Teachers for Tomorrow,” says Alice.

One of the most important skills that Alice learned during the program was time management. Alice says that skill is not often taught in high school, but is very important when it comes to teaching. She taught at the elementary-school level during the program and then decided she was better suited to teach high school.

“Virginia Teachers for Tomorrow helped me try different age groups in the internship and become acquainted with different subjects,” Alice says.

Alice received a bachelor’s degree in geosciences from Virginia Tech in 2009, and the following year earned her master’s in secondary science education. Now, Alice teaches biology and geosystems at JEB Stuart High School in Falls Church.

One of Alice’s favorite parts about her job is working with the students, as well as collaborating with other teachers. “It’s not the same every day, let alone every year,” says Alice, who enjoys the active environment teaching provides.

Alice’s advice to current high school students interested in becoming teachers is to start thinking about the future now because it can have an impact later on in life.

“Teaching is very fulfilling, and the people that become great teachers have a gift,” says Alice. “I know that there are students out there that have that gift and need to show it.”

Preparing students for the future

Ever since she can remember, Autumn White has wanted to be a teacher. As a child, she “taught” her stuffed animals lessons. As soon as she was old enough, she began babysitting and taking middle and high school preparatory classes for her own career in education.

Autumn’s high school education courses put her directly in the classroom, preparing her own lesson plans, observing everyone from teachers to librarians and school nurses.

“I felt like I was able to get a solid foundation in high school, which helped me out tremendously in college,” Autumn says. “I’d already had a little touch of everything, and after all the classes I took in college, I was very well prepared. It also helped me figure out that I truly enjoyed teaching and that was my passion.”

After finishing her bachelor’s degree at Randolph-Macon College in Ashland, Autumn launched her teaching career. She now teaches fourth and fifth grade at Beaverdam Elementary School in Hanover County.

“The things I love most about teaching are that each day is a new day with a new challenge and that I’m able to shape the future and make a difference in the kids’ lives,” Autumn says.

In her first job, Autumn taught kindergarten and first grade at Pearsons Corner Elementary School in Hanover, where she earned the New Teacher of the Year award. It was there that she discovered her passion for teaching children to read, so she recently completed her master’s degree in reading so that she can become a reading specialist.

She was also part of a pilot program for science teaching. In summer 2011, Autumn participated in a month-long program called the Virginia Initiative for Science Teaching and Achievement. Teachers were taught problem-solving learning and taught underprivileged kids for two weeks. Throughout the year, she will implement the program into her curriculum, and her test scores will be evaluated to see if they rise.