Alumni – Institute for Recruitment of Teachers

Building a Room of Our Own: Sending the Humanities On

by Amanda Bennett, IRT ’16
Writer | Educator | Researcher | Poet Laureate of Carrboro

There is a direct line from IRT to the backyard of my Durham home.

Years ago, IRT taught me how to do something that seems simple once you know how, but can feel nearly impossible when you do not: navigate the infrastructure of graduate education. I learned how to prepare for the GRE, how to build a graduate school application, how to understand the admissions process, and how to request application fee waivers so that money did not immediately determine which opportunities were available to me.

Those skills eventually helped me enter Duke University’s Literature Ph.D. program, where I studied critical theory, Black feminist thought, spirituality, literature, and the ways Black people use imagination to repair ourselves and build lives under difficult conditions.

But something else happened because I came to graduate school: I came to Durham.

IRT on the Road: Summer & Fall 2026

Breakthrough Greater Boston Careers in Education Fair, UNCF/Mellon Programs Conference, International Conference on Education & Justice and more…

The IRT team has been busy these past few months connecting at events. Highlights on the team’s travels below. Any IRT Alumni who plan to attend annual conferences or local events, let us know!

LaShawnda Brooks
Executive Director, IRT

Breakthrough Greater Boston held their annual Careers in Education Fair this August at the University of Massachusetts, Boston. LaShawnda connected with talented teaching fellows exploring their paths to a career in education.

LaShawnda also attended Boston University’s Fall 2026 Education Policy Seminar Series in September. Dominique Baker, an associate professor from the University of Delaware presented on “Examining the Higher Education Policy Discourse Through 75 Years of Congressional Hearing Testimony.”

Leislie Godo-Solo, IRT ‘ 91
IRT Education Programs Specialist

On October 1, Leislie presented at the UNCF/Mellon Programs Conference in Atlanta. The theme was Scholars Transforming the Academy: Centering and Stabilizing Scholar Activism
in Times Like These. Additional IRT Alumni participating in panel discussions included Dominick Rolle, IRT ’09 is the Director of Undergraduate Research Programs, The Pathways Center, at Emory University, Julius Flemming, IRT ’08 Associate Professor of English at Washington University, Saint Louis, and Bria Paige, IRT ’18 a postdoctoral fellow at Dartmouth College.

Leislie will also be representing IRT and its program on October 22 at a Virtual Internship and Postbaccalaureate Research Programs Expo, hosted by Morgan State University and The Leadership Alliance.

2026 UNCF/Mellon Programs Conference

Alumni Accolades, Fall 2026

Marta Holliday, IRT ’03
Marta was recently promoted to the rank of full professor at Alabama State University. Marta was first hired in 2011 and received tenure and promotion to Associate Professor in 2017.

“Thank you to the IRT for your continued support of me, from my graduate school application process in 2003, to my journey to my PhD from the University of Iowa, to the job search and tenure application process and now to my journey to becoming a full professor. I am especially indebted to the dedication of my IRT mentors Ms. Leislie Godo-Solo, IRT ’91 and Ms. Alexandra Cornelius, IRT ’91.”

Mayra Canizales Cruz, IRT ’07
Congratulations to Mayra an IRT and Donovan Urban Teaching Scholar alum who has been selected to participate in the Pahara Fellowship Program.

The program was founded in 2007 and their mission states: “Our mission is to strengthen and sustain values-driven leaders who are transforming public education so that every child is prepared to lead a free and fulfilling life.”

Mai Thai, IRT ’10
Mai was promoted to Associate Professor of Sociology at Occidental College. She also published a book, KID COPS, about U.S. policing and the American educational system, from the University of Chicago Press. Additional resources for teachers using the book in class can be found in the KID COPS Reading, Discussion, and Teaching Guide.

Executive Director Letter, June 2026

Summer 2026

It’s here!

After admitting our newest class and graduating our most recent, the IRT is thrilled to launch our newest summer workshop. This workshop will continue to build on our previous virtual delivery with curriculum delivery, Chalk Talks, Recruiters Weekend, and opportunities for scholars to demonstrate their learning. I am excited to see how our Summer faculty will continue to develop ways to support scholars through these shifts in higher education and greater society.

IRT’s Newest Team Member Dr. Alba Lamar, IRT ’14

Imanalla!
We are thrilled to announce that Dr. Alba Lamar, IRT ’14, has joined the IRT as our new Arts and Sciences Program Specialist. A Lënapehòkin-born Andean African-descendant, Alba is a lifelong artivist, educator, independent scholar, and widely published author. Her work is deeply rooted in the study of rematriation, Land-based knowledges, liberation, and abolition. Through the lenses of #guerrilladiscourse, Hip Hop, and Tattoo epistemologies, she explores thriving ontologies and anticolonialism.

Alba brings two decades of experience teaching students from infancy through college, including pre-service teachers. Her career is distinguished by the development of social and environmental justice curricula and resources for parents and educators, with a steadfast focus on Black Liberation, Indigenous Sovereignty, and sustaining, revitalizing pedagogies. Her professional journey has spanned Florida, New York City, Michigan, California, and Shanghai, China. An alumna of the 2014 IRT Associate Program, Alba earned her Ph.D. in Curriculum, Instruction, and Teacher Education from Michigan State University. She also holds a Master of Science in Education from CUNY Hunter College and a Bachelor of Arts in English Literature and Linguistics from the University of Central Florida.

Dr. Alba Lamar, IRT ’14

Alba’s connection to our mission is profound. Following her doctoral studies, she served as an IRT Statement of Purpose Advisor in 2021, 2023, and 2025. In this role, she drew upon her lived experience and academic expertise to help aspiring graduate students craft powerful narratives that define their purpose and intellectual curiosity.

As she steps into the role of Arts and Sciences Program Specialist, Alba’s dedication to nurturing underrepresented future educators aligns perfectly with the IRT’s commitment to advocacy and mentorship. We are honored to have her expertise as we continue to expand career paths and elevate the next generation of educational leaders.