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Framingham State Senior Danielle Farmer is preparing to spend two years in North Carolina after graduation teaching under-privileged students as part of the Teach for America Program.
Teach for America is a non-profit organization that seeks to end educational inequity by placing well-trained teachers in low-income communities with struggling school systems.
“These school systems are badly underfunded, which makes it difficult for them to hire qualified teachers,” said Farmer, a history major. “Teach for America targets college graduates and places them where teachers are needed most.”
Farmer will spend five weeks over the summer receiving special training in Mississippi and then she will take over a classroom in rural North Carolina, teaching math to high school students.
“It’s going to be an exciting experience,” she said. “I’ve never lived outside of Massachusetts.”
Farmer, a native of Billerica, Mass., said she initially thought the fact that she attends a public state school would hurt her application.
“I looked at the list of the other students participating and they come from places like Stanford, Harvard and Yale,” she said. “But the support I got here from staff on campus really helped me put together a strong application.”
Farmer said the staff members at the Framingham State Center for Academic Support and Advising (CASA) were particularly helpful during the three-round application process.
“Being at a small school is great, because you get that individual attention you don’t always find other places,” said Farmer, who currently serves as the student trustee on the university's Board of Trustees.
She said her experience as a peer tutor at CASA the past two years motivated her to apply for Teach for America.
“Framingham has introduced me to some of the most inspiring programs and people,” Farmer said. “And that is why I am so passionate about Teach for America, and it is also why I had the confidence to apply and make it through the process.”
