2023 School Ambassador Fellow: US Department of Education
So just the title alone of this blog dispels any myth in my mind that the impossible can't be achieved. This has been 3 years in the making. I first caught wind of this Fellowship in November of 2020. You read that right. I applied for 2021-22 school year and Covid disrupted any full time candidate from proceeding. I tabled it for the following year and made it to final rounds but didn't get it. I came back again for the second time this past school year, and well, as you can see, I secured my spot to be the next Full-time School Ambassador Fellow with the US Department of Education. I will join a very small cohort of less than 10 educators and school leaders to forge ahead, to proclaim equal education opportunity with our special graces & anointing.
I'm trying to figure out a way to describe how consequential this win is. Know this: only the most prestigious and well established educators and school leaders in the ENTIRE country are EVEN considered. Running the risk of sounding braggadocios, how exponentially slim my chances truly were and yet I arrived. Up against PHD holders, superintendents, principals, state teachers of the year, national fellowship frequenters, and folks with 20-30 years of experience were my legit competition.
The application process? Grueling. Pages of application forms, references, short answers, and even a video that had to be submitted stating your case as to why you'd be the best candidate. Then two rounds of interviews-the final one being an all day affair. We had to engage in group performance tasks as we were getting evaluated and rubric scored. We also had to create two timed presentations discussing our Captsone Project. This would be our potential area of focus that aligned with the US Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona and his administration's priorities. I chose to focus on diversifying the teacher workforce with an emphasis on the bilingual educator and explosion of multilingual learners. Subject to change, but I'm wrestling with this as my central areas of research, examination, and national focus now as your capstone can be fluid: The intersectionality of teacher trauma, a leaky pipeline, and the bilingual educator.
You have to know how hard I worked to get here. I prayed for this, visualized this, created visuals all around my room to remind me, manifested this, and already felt the feeling of the win before it was even a possibility. I even went to the actual DOE building in downtown DC and just sprinkled my energy glitter all over it. I have receipts, but I'll spare you. How fervently I researched, prepped, consulted with folks, and may I confess that the second the final interview was finished I collapsed in my bedroom closet and passed out-I think I laid there for like 30 minutes. Testament to how I exhausted all my resources, talents, passion, and grit my entire being could expend.
What does this mean for Mrs. G.? I had to take a leave of absence for the full school year, and at which point I will be hired on a temporary basis with the US Department of Education. I will be able to travel the country, sitting at power-generated tables and advocate for the issues that I've dedicated my life's work to at a much accelerated and up close and personal speed. Good trouble (x)'s infinity. I will be the only Latina, Mexi-Rican educator from IL and I don't take this task lightly. Matter of fact, I intentionally didn't blow out my hair and left it curly for this announcement shoot. The pop of natural curls, the hoops, and the deep red lip are an homage to my Boriqua-Chicana roots. Full authentic self will be on high volume in this new journey. DC, you have been warned.
This is a win for our communities of color, underrepresented teachers and students, those of us stuck on the margins of urban education. Mrs. G. is coming, is here, and will amplify our lived experiences and strongly suggest a way forward in the name of all that is good and righteous. My rally cry, and I have to stop saying "I can't believe it." Because I should. I should believe in my assets, my worth, and my value as a woman of color in these realms of power and influence. Poetic Justice: I'm just a light brown-skinned girl from a single parent home, a daughter of immigrants, an inner city teacher in urban ed streets and beats. Yet, I'm here...mi gente, my people, I won't and I can't let you down. To my students, I dedicate this journey to you. With tears welling, you have made me better, have made me believe in the good fight, and I will not stop putting people on notice at how brilliant you are!
To my Maker: You have made this vehemently crystalline clear that I'm called for more, and my destiny is as vast and profound as the ocean's floor. I ebb and flow with You, I can see now. Your will be done---in the words of Queen Esther from the Old Testament...for such a time as this.
See you in the Capital!