By the time Dana Von Schaumberg ’14 graduates this May, she’ll already have years of teaching experience on her resumé. And it will come in handy when she joins Teach for America for a two-year stint.
Von Schaumberg, from Parker, Colorado, spent the last four summers working with Breakthrough Denver, a program dedicated to preparing under-resourced eighth- and ninth-grade students in science.
“At Breakthrough, I saw first-hand ways disparities in education negatively impact students, families, and communities,” she says. “The students I’ve worked with are beyond incredible; they continually inspire me, make me laugh, and push me to advocate for equitable access to educational opportunities for all students.”
Von Schaumberg continued her commitment to education during her off-campus study semester in Cape Town, South Africa. Her program was service-learning based; she took classes in poverty and development, social research methods, and the local language, proving community engagement opportunities through her academic work.
“There was so much life in the culture,” she says. “It was amazing to be a part of such a community.”
In Cape Town, Von Schaumberg worked at a local high school and taught math enrichment classes to eighth graders. Because South Africa has the second-worst performing math scores in the world, only one percent of students pass the national exam. Mathematics is a subject requiring student investment and often educational tutoring.
So for her capstone project, Von Schaumberg created a math resource center, which included textbooks, flashcards, and peer tutoring opportunities for young students. “I was shocked at how much support I received and how much I could accomplish in five months,” she says.
Her teaching experience opened her eyes to the stark division between first- and third-world experiences, and she plans to bring the power of her Scripps education to her students stateside. “I believe a strong liberal arts background is important for success in the sciences, as researchers need to be able to process diverse information, and present their findings in a clear manner,” she says.
“I absolutely love planning and delivering lessons and getting to know students and their families,” says Von Schaumberg. “I’m so excited to have my own classroom, especially in a city I’ve grown up in and really come to love.”