Pittsburgh Urban Teaching Corps Resident Makes a Career Change to Make a Difference in the Lives of Children (13400 hits)
What do you do if you’re a successful African American female engineer spending your nights and weekends worrying about the state of public education? Especially when the children in your neighborhood, already struggling with poverty, violence and racial discrimination, aren’t getting the education they deserve. If you’re LaShawn Neal, you decide it’s time for a career change and take on the challenge of educating our youth.
Before changing her career, LaShawn was a Senior Cost Engineer and spent her week forecasting earnings for projects in Pittsburgh as well as understanding all related project risks. Then, driven by a commitment to social justice, she decided to apply for the Pittsburgh Urban Teaching Corps (PUTC). Now, she spends her days in a 4th grade math classroom, followed by night classes at Chatham University earning her Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT).
The PUTC is a teacher residency program developed by Propel Charter Schools and Chatham University in 2014. Selected participants are provided fully-funded tuition for a MAT degree, a $1,350 per month stipend, health insurance, professional development and mentorship in exchange for 3 years as a full-time teacher in a Propel school.
Do you want to step up to the challenge and make a difference in the life of a child? Are you like LaShawn and want to make a career change? Read more about her story and the PUTC here.
