A little over a year ago, like so many of you, I was attempting to plan for life after college. I was graduating from the University of Illinois’ College of Business and was reluctantly preparing for a career in financial services. During my last semester, I was fortunate enough to speak with a fellow classmate who had been accepted to Teach For America. She inspired me to learn more about the organization and its mission to eliminate educational inequity; I immediately felt compelled to apply.

I began my two-year commitment with Teach For America teaching in a predominately low-income, African American neighborhood in Chicago. My 32 three-year-olds had two years of pre-kindergarten before they would head off to kindergarten. During my first week in the classroom, I was able to complete the diagnostic assessments that gave me a sense of where my students were in terms of their cognitive and language development. The diagnostics showed that a majority of the students were unable to identify a single letter, count to ten, identify or write their own name, and lacked many critical social-emotional and communication skills.

When I first heard about Teach For America I wondered how someone who had been studying business for the last several years could be prepared to teach in one of the most challenging environments. The same determination and attention to results that are necessary in the business world are helping me to close the achievement gap for my students. Big goals, long-term planning, smart investment strategies and accountability for results: these are the principles that ensure success, whether it’s in business or in the classroom.

After assessing my students at the end of my first year, I was overwhelmed by the progress that each of my students made and how much we were able to achieve. By the end of the year over 90 percent of my students could identify every upper and lower case letter, knew every letter sound, could identify and write their names, could count up to 100, and more importantly, they were excited about school and motivated to learn.

With another year of pre-kindergarten remaining, my students were already meeting several of the Illinois kindergarten standards. In a community where it is more likely for a child to drop out then it is for them to graduate from high school, my students were going to enter kindergarten prepared to tackle the academic challenges that lay ahead.

Across the country, there are over 14 million children growing up in poverty. By the time these children reach fourth grade, they will already be three grade levels behind their higher income peers, and the gap will only widen from there. Only 10 percent of children from low-income communities graduate from college. In this country, where a child is born determines their educational outcomes. This unacceptable reality has inspired thousands to join Teach For America to be a part of the movement to end educational inequality.

Over the past twenty years, Teach For America has developed a clear understanding of how successful teachers attain exceptional results with students in low-income communities.

In addition to the principles mentioned above, a large part of Teach For America’s success comes from their commitment to diversity. Leaders in education come from all ethnicities and socio-economic backgrounds, and Teach For America seeks diversity to serve as a model of the fairness and equality of opportunity.

I was immediately able to find common ground with my students because I teach at a school that is only blocks from where I grew up. This connection has helped to fuel a positive classroom environment where my students are thriving.

I have watched my students go from not knowing their letters to being able to read and write complete sentences. They are motivated and my class is an active site of exploration and learning.

I believe that my ability to relate to my students’ experiences as well as being a positive male influence in their lives has had a tremendous influence on their progress and growth.

As a fellow Illinois graduate you have the potential to be a powerful role model for students like my 32 four-year-olds. Your presence and commitment can help put them on a path of academic and life success.

I urge you to consider Teach For America and joining me in the movement to end educational inequity.

Michael Abello graduated from the University in 2008.