MACON – Mercer University student Rachel Goossen has been selected for the prestigious Teach For America program. Following her graduation this month, Goossen will be placed in Houston, Texas, for the next two years, where she expects to teach pre-kindergarten. Goossen, a political science major, spent last summer working on the staff of TFA’s summer training institute, an opportunity that she said solidified her desire to become a TFA corps member after graduation.
Although getting accepted into the program is something for which she is incredibly proud, Goossen said the real achievement is yet to come. “For me, the success of my work is not simply getting accepted into Teach For America, but the success will come from the achievements my students make in the classroom,” she said.
Teach For America is a non-profit organization that places qualified applicants in schools in lower-income communities across the country. The application process is rigorous, and the program looks for individuals who possess strong leadership abilities and have achievements in academic, professional, extracurricular or volunteer settings.
Goossen said classes at Mercer prepared her for this opportunity by helping her think about the wider world, particularly her first-year seminar class with Randall Harshbarger and her political science courses with Dr. Eimad Houry.
“I have always had the desire to have a career in which I was helping others and not just finding personal gain,” Goossen said. “I appreciate the volunteer opportunities I have found at Mercer both through my classes and my extracurricular activities.”
About Mercer University
Founded in 1833, Mercer University is a dynamic and comprehensive center of undergraduate, graduate and professional education. The University enrolls more than 8,200 students in 11 schools and colleges – liberal arts, law, pharmacy, medicine, business, engineering, education, theology, music, nursing and continuing and professional studies – on major campuses in Macon, Atlanta and Savannah and at four regional academic centers across the state. Mercer is affiliated with two teaching hospitals — Memorial University Medical Center in Savannah and the Medical Center of Central Georgia in Macon, and has educational partnerships with Warner Robins Air Logistics Center in Warner Robins and Piedmont Healthcare in Atlanta. The University operates an academic press and a performing arts center in Macon and an engineering research center in Warner Robins. Mercer is the only private university in Georgia to field an NCAA Division I athletic program. For more information, visit www.mercer.edu.
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