Program – Page 7 – Institute for Recruitment of Teachers

Admission Season Perspectives

IRT Arts & Sciences Specialist Brittany Zorn, IRT ’13 and Education Specialist Leislie Godo-Solo, IRT ’91 share their thoughts with IRT Scholars.

The first couple months of the New Year is always my favorite time of year- and no, it’s not because I’m an Aquarius Sun or because New England winters are the prettiest of anywhere (ok not JUST because of these things). The start of the New Year is my favorite time of year because it is admissions season!

For IRT scholars, the first six months of their IRT engagement is rigorous and time consuming; conducting school list research, making connections with graduate school folks, curating application materials, and crafting close to a dozen quality statements of purpose keeps scholars busy from June through December. Admissions season is the time when all that hard work pays off and scholars begin to see the fruits of their labor in the form of invitations to interview or visit campus and offers of admission. It’s always a season of some uncertainty and great celebration. The shock, joy, and relief that students often feel when the offers (and the dollars!) start to roll in is something I am grateful to share in each year.

While admissions season brings lots of exciting news, it also comes with a new set of stressors. Through the pre-application season, scholars are often most concerned with packaging themselves legibly to graduate programs- the emphasis is always on the scholar seeking approval (admission) from these graduate programs- but the post-application season introduces a new dynamic. Once an offer has been extended the power of approval (accepting an offer or not) is shifted into the hands of the scholar. After months of scrutinizing program websites, scouring faculty profiles, and drawing insight from one-to-one conversations so that they might be judged worthy of entry into a program, scholars are now faced with determining whether these institutions are in fact worthy of THEM.

PA Giving Day – March 29, 2023

We extend heartfelt thanks to the many members of the IRT donor community who continue to advance this critical work through their annual gift. Our program is possible because of your support! For the past several years, PA Giving Day has served as an exciting and powerful day for the IRT, and we are excited to continue this momentum! Several members of the IRT Advisory Board are offering match funds to inspire participation. Every one of the first 79 gifts to the program, regardless of size, will be matched with a $1,000 gift, unlocking up to $79,000 in funds for the IRT!

Please help us to ensure success on Giving Day. The official event runs from 9am EDT on March 29^th to 12pm EDT on March 30^th, but you can help jump start this amazing day and make your gift now; simply select “IRT” from the “Designation” drop-down menu.

“We are the leaders we’ve been waiting for!” Grace Lee Boggs

Hello esteemed IRT alums! Now that I have your attention! Are you looking for part-time Summer employment that aligns with your commitment to teach and lead for justice? Are you in search of a community that values a sense of belonging and is eager for you to share your wisdom while at the same time giving you opportunities to grow and innovate your teaching skills. Well you have come to the right place!

We are currently seeking IRT Summer Workshop faculty to teach in our IRT 2023 Workshop. This year’s workshop will be facilitated virtually so that all scholars, no matter where they live in the United States, can participate and engage with the curriculum materials as well as meet with IRT alums and Consortium partners. Our workshop sessions will be highly interactive and engaging as we seek to support and prepare the next generation of diverse educators to teach and lead in PK-12 through higher education.

Please consider submitting an application or pass this onto a fellow IRT alum. Many thanks! Applications are due March 17, 2023.

IRT Summer Workshop Faculty App Link

Recruiting IRT’s Next Cohort

IRT Application Deadline – March 1, 2023
The IRT is accepting applications for scholars planning to attend graduate school in the fall of 2024.

To help prospective applicants learn more about our application process, the IRT has created a short webinar series, which details our admissions process. We strongly encourage all interested applicants to attend or listen to all four of these webinars. IRT staff will provide insight on how we evaluate candidates and what constitutes a strong applicant.

Are you an IRT Alum interested in how you can help with recruitment?
We recently sent out an alumni email, but if you didn’t receive one then please email us for information on how you can host your own information session at your university or other ways to share the word about the IRT !

IRT helped me in invaluable ways throughout the grad school application process; I would like to pay it forward to the next generation of scholars now that I am faculty at a university.

IRT Alumni Panels – Engaging with Current Scholars

The continuation of the IRT Post Advising Season began on a high note in January when Leislie Godo-Solo ‘91, Education Programs Specialist, and Brittany Zorn ‘13 Arts and Sciences Programs Specialist, moderated the last of nine alumni panels held through-out the year this January. The panels are one part of the comprehensive advising program for current Scholars. They provide access and invaluable insight from alumni who share their journeys pursuing their Master’s and Ph.D. degrees.