Nate Allen, a University graduate and Teach for America participant, was just one of many in Espresso Royal on Thursday, Oct. 26, but he was there with a purpose. He came to interview potential applicants for the upcoming school year with Teach for America. He sat up in his chair, eyes brightening as he vividly relived his favorite memory about his experiences teaching inner-city kids in Miami.

“A student came not able to add negative two and four, and by the end of the year he was calculating two-step algebraic equations with ease,” Allen said. “It’s amazing. It almost brings tears to my eyes.”

Allen is in his second year with Teach for America and teaches in one of the worst school districts in Miami. Yet, he is not discouraged by the struggle of teaching his students.

“I’ve learned so much. It has made me a better person,” he said.

According to its Web site, Teach for America is a nonprofit organization that seeks to close the educational gap by providing the same educational opportunities for students living in low-income urban and rural settings as their high-income counterparts have throughout the nation.

Jason Kloth, recruitment director for Teach for America, said the organization accomplishes this by selecting high-performing college graduates from all academic majors and backgrounds.

“They commit two years to teaching in low-income communities,” Kloth said. “Following this two-year commitment, alumni go on to effect the broader fundamental shifts necessary to create change.”

Jennifer Carnig, regional communications director for Teach for America, speaks for the organization when she says that “inequality in education is our nation’s most pressing problem.”

Teach for America is built around the belief that when all students are given the same opportunities, they excel. According to its Web site, that is the key to closing the education gap.

Participants in Teach for America attempt to inspire these students to overcome their current circumstances and their lack of opportunity.

However, many students suffer educationally across the nation due to their lack of opportunities and their economic status. This produces a sense of low expectation in students that is often hard, if not impossible, to overcome.

“These students have heard negativity all their life,” Allen said. “It’s always been ‘you’re going to do nothing in life’ – negativity, negativity, negativity. What we do is provide a fresh perspective and a fresh hope.”

This fresh hope can be seen in the improvement of scores and grades in these classrooms.

Information from The Student Impact Study, conducted in 2004, which can be found on the Teach for America Web site, concluded that students show a significant impact because of the teachers in this program.

Students involved in this study typically fall at the 14th percentile, which means that about 86 percent of students nationwide fall above them. With that in mind, Teach for America participants make significantly more progress in math than expected, raising students from the 14th percentile to the 17th percentile, according to the study. This is roughly the equivalent to an additional month of math instruction.

The effects of the organization are not limited to the students.

“Entering Teach for America is a life-changing experience, both for you and the students in your classes,” Carnig said. “You will challenge yourself in ways that you never knew possible, gaining personal strength and credibility that can only come from having taught, and learning skills that you can carry with you in the education field and beyond.”

It is this real-world experience that entices soon-to-be graduates to the program. These graduates are then recruited to help in the crusade against the educational gaps.

Therese Rogers, senior in LAS and Campus Campaign Manager for Teach for America, is a hopeful participant for next year. She works closely with the organization, talking to classes and student organizations about Teach for America.

“Teach for America believes educational inequity is the civil rights issue of our generation,” Rogers said. “It exists to address this issue.”

This issue can only be addressed by attaining the students who are not only qualified academically but possess the leadership skills necessary to teach in such a difficult environment.

Hopeful participants, like Rogers, must undergo an application and interview process before they are accepted. If accepted, they endure a grueling five week training process.

“The institute is intense, intense, intense,” Rogers said. “It involves workshops in the mornings and teaching summer school, with the help of veteran teachers, in the afternoons. Former corps members say nothing could truly prepare a new teacher for the first day of teaching, but they do feel they received the best training possible.”

Initially some teachers may find the experience disheartening, but Allen said that the alternative is worse.

“It’s disheartening to see a room full of kids who are rowdy,” Allen said. “In my opinion it is more disheartening to see a society full of 20- and 30-year-olds rowdy. If we don’t solve the problem now, it will never be solved. So I’d rather try to change these kids when they are 10 years old, rather than 25.”

Teach for America realizes that the experience can be difficult, Allen said. It attempts to provide a solid foundation for teachers to build upon and continually supports the teachers throughout the good and bad times. Allen said he feels strongly about the support that he has received because he said he has been able to make a difference in a rough environment.