Gabrielle Curran, FCRH '20, Lands Dream Job
English Major Gabrielle Curran, FCRH ‘20, has landed a job she never imagined she’d get. After spending hours upon hours of interviewing, Gabrielle was thrilled to find out that she had been hired to be a teacher in the Teach for America program.
Gabrielle credits here classes in the Fordham English department for launching her into her bright future.
“I’ve loved all of my English literature and creative writing classes at Fordham. Two of my personal favorites were a fiction-writing class I took with Professor Stacey D’Erasmo and my English theory class with Professor Moshe Gold. One class that has helped me immensely in terms of improving my work ethic was my EP4 class, Hobbits, Heroes, and Hubris, which I took last spring with Professor Leslie Carpenter. The class asked a lot out of me––some form of written work was due almost every class, and the readings were long and often difficult. However, it really forced me to organize my time and make sure I could give each assignment the effort it deserved––all while studying a subject I loved!”
And her advice for anyone looking to join Teach for America?
Gabrielle Curran FCRH ‘20
“The best tip I can give prospective Teach for America applicants is to truly believe in your own, personal reason for applying. I got a bit overwhelmed while explaining why I wanted to join the corps during the first stage of my application. I was afraid that it sounded too forced and generic and didn’t give a good enough reason to justify my being a part of Teach for America. Lo and behold, I got past the first stage and was invited to an interview. What I’ve found since then is that if you really mean the words you put on your application, the strength of your reasoning will inevitably come through. Trust your initial reason to join Teach for America, choose your words wisely on your application and make sure that you mean them.
“As for the interview process, ensuring that you are well-rested––and above all, relaxed––on the day of your interview is crucial. The people interviewing you are not looking for reasons to eliminate you from the candidate pool; they are looking for you to tell them why you will be an outstanding asset to Teach for America’s corps. Looking at the interview process this way was very helpful for me.”
Gabrielle took advantage of the extracurricular activities at Fordham, which enriched her educational experience while also enhancing her ability to find future employment.
“I was lucky enough to have had a few leadership positions during my time as an undergrad at Fordham, including being Executive Editor of the paper and a Teaching Assistant for Gabelli’s Ground Floor class. I’ve learned so many lessons on effective communication, time management, and patience from being in these positions, which I will definitely be taking with me into the classroom moving forward!”
Congratulations to Gabrielle on this fantastic achievement! We wish her all the best as she begins her pedagogical journey.