I think I might have seen a commercial for City Year once on ESPN, but other than that, I had a very vague idea of what City Year was. I was doing research at the A&P office one day, looking for local blogs for one of our clients, and I came across the City Year New York blog. Later that day, I went home and went home and did some of my own research.
For those of you who don't know what City Year is, it's an AmeriCorps program that sends teams of young people, ages 17-24, into low-income community schools, providing the students in those schools with one-on-one or small group attention during and after school hours. City Year corps members serve as tutors, mentors, and role models for these kids who don't have many people to look up to. Our goal is to close the achievement gap, and let our students know that they have a fighting chance to be great and do great. People call it the "domestic Peace Corps."
The best thing that City Year has to offer is the opportunity to inspire and motivate. Over the years, I can think of three teachers who inspired motivated, and shaped me into the person I am today: Miss Quinn, Mr. Howard, and Dr. Kilbourne.
My sixth-grade teacher, Miss Quinn, nurtured my talents and was my biggest cheerleader. That year, I really felt that the sky was the limit for me, and if it weren't for her reassuring me along the way that I was a great writer, singer, and person, I wouldn't have developed the confidence to pursue the things I love at such a young age, that I've continued to build upon over the years. She wasn't just a teacher, but she was my best friend. I remember meeting her in second grade when my class and her sixth graders were putting on a farewell performance for my second grade teacher, Ms. Sears, and I vividly remember second-grade me thinking, "I am having Miss Quinn as my sixth grade teacher!"
My junior-year AP Literature teacher, Mr. Howard, taught me to become a better critical thinker, reminded me that I was smart, and cared enough to get to know me as a person. In high school, I didn't really apply myself to things I didn't want to do and seriously lacked motivation. But he saw my potential, knew I could do better, and made me want to be the best. After school or during lunch, I would hang out in his classroom, and we talked about my family, my crazy, Korean mother who "just didn't understand me," boys, friends... pretty much everything most people talk to their moms about, I discussed with Mr Howard. For a man who is the epitome of a sarcastic cynic, he's one of the most compassionate people I have ever met.
My sophomore-year macromarketing teacher, Dr. Kilbourne, inspired me to go to Honduras on a service trip that changed my life forever.
In my opinion, many colleges like Clemson, that are located in the middle of nowhere, are microcosms that breed selfishness, superficiality, and materialism. College for us is, first, a place to party, and second, a place to get an education. Don't get me wrong - I had the time of my life, learned a lot along the way, both from teachers and friends, and made lifelong friendships. But I fell into the trap of wanting to fit in when I had always been proud of being true to who I am. I wanted a David Yurman this, a Tory Burch that, and I have never invested so much of my parents' money on fashion in my life, regrettably so.
I took Dr. Kilbourne's macromarketing class because it was a prerequisite, and I had to either take that or Marketing Research. I chose Macromarketing, and on the first day of class, I remember seeing this tall, lanky, long-and-white-haired older gentleman standing in front of the classroom. He wore wiry glasses, a white long-sleeved t-shirt tucked into his light-wash 90s-reminiscent denim jeans, and plain tennis shoes. The books we had to read were about social this and environmental that, and all I thought was, "He is going to bore me to death this semester." It ended up being my favorite class, and he, one of my most inspiring teachers.
Dr. Kilbourne gave me a heavy dose of perspective when I needed it most. He taught me that the amount of stuff I was buying was not only unnecessary, but damaging the world I live in. He taught me that the way we're living our lives so individualistically, completely blind to the rest of the world, needs to change before we do irreparable damage. He taught me that buying nice things will make you temporarily happy, but doing good things will create happiness that will last forever. He taught me that things have started to define people, instead of people's thoughts and actions defining themselves. He planted a fire in me to do better, spend less, and most importantly, to think more. It was because of his class that I started becoming myself again, the person that I had abandoned in order to "fit in." His class was what fueled me to taking that leap of faith and volunteer in Honduras.
The common thread between Miss Quinn, Mr. Howard, and Dr. Kilbourne is this: they believed in me when I didn't. They found me when I had lost myself. To me, these teachers are heroes because they teach to make a difference. They teach to inspire, motivate, and change. They reminded me of my great potential. They reminded me of who I was and the great things I was capable of achieving. They taught me to think differently, act differently, and be the best me I can be. Because of them, and all the other teachers who have inspired me throughout the years, I joined City Year. And I can only hope that my future students will remember me, years down the road, the way I remember Miss Quinn, Mr. Howard, and Dr. Kilbourne.
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