Recruitment – Page 2 – Institute for Recruitment of Teachers

Thank you to the Recruitment Team!

It just goes to show that when two IRT alums get to talking instead of being stalled by a challenge, they set out to activate an opportunity. And that is just what Brittany Zorn, IRT ‘13, and Juliana (Juju) Wong, IRT ‘15, did last March (2023). In conversing about the upcoming recruitment season, they brainstormed how best to engage prospective scholars and Consortium partners while accounting for people’s preferences for in-person, virtual, and or hybrid meetings and events. Emerging from their collaboration was the proposal for Juliana to step into a consultancy role as the interim Recruitment and Alumni Program Specialist. Having previously served in roles with IRT as Summer Workshop faculty as well as a Statement of Purpose Advisor, Juliana was well positioned to give back to IRT in this way. This proposal was a win-win for IRT and for Juliana. It expanded IRT’s capacity at a critical time and furthered Juliana’s professional development as she sought to grow her consultancy.

Over the past few months, Juliana worked in conjunction with the IRT staff including LaShawnda Brooks, Catherine Wong, Leislie Godo-Solo, IRT’91, Sara Cerretani, and Janelle Bonasera to design and implement a recruitment strategy that involved; 1) differentiation of activities and materials for increased access to potential scholars across the United States, 2) meeting and co-planning events and info sessions with Consortium partners, and 3) gatherings of IRT alums from across years and fields of study for both social and professional networking.

Appreciations to Juliana and Brittany for their initial brainstorming and to the full IRT team for contributing to this year’s recruitment efforts. It truly takes a village. Juliana, prospective scholars, alumni, and Consortium have all commented on how grateful they are for your outreach, organization, and outstanding presentation skills. Your enthusiasm shines through all your interactions. We wish you the very best in your next ventures and look forward to continuing to engage with you as a fellow alum.

For recruitment event highlights, please read our Recruitment and Application update.

IRT Recruitment On the Road

After a 3-year hiatus, IRT is finally resuming IN-PERSON recruitment events this Fall!

Juliana (Juju) Wong, IRT ‘15, our current Interim Recruitment and Alumni Programs Specialist, is leading a robust recruitment schedule that includes travel to colleges and universities all around the country to host information sessions, attend undergraduate research conferences, and represent at graduate school fairs!

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 Presence Virtually and On the Road

Interacting with students and colleagues has always been a strong area of focus for the IRT. These past few months have kept our team busy on the road as many regional events begin to expand their formats to include in-person sessions. The IRT has taken these opportunities to connect and further the discussion of shared experiences and mutual goals with educational and community partners across the country.

IRT Alumni on the Move at the UNCF/Mellon Programs Conference

Answering the Call to Transform the Academy
UNCF/Mellon Programs Conference: October 6-8, 2022
Atlanta, GA

IRT Education Programs Specialist Leislie Godo-Solo, IRT ’91 attended the UNCF/Mellon Programs Conference in October, where she also gave a presentation about IRT programs to new Mellon Coordinators and caught up with IRT alumni who were guest panelists during the two-day event.

Renee Johnson-Thornton, IRT ’05
Senior Program Associate and Associate Director of MMUF at the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation was one of the guest speakers during the Conference Opening titled “Answering the Call to Transform the Academy.”

George Pratt, IRT ’22
A current senior at Morehouse College, Pratt participated on the Mentee/Mentor Relationship panel during the UNCF/Mellon Programs Conference in Atlanta. George accepted the Marshall Scholarship while working with the IRT this fall and will pursue his MPhil at the University of Oxford.

2022 IRT Cohort Application

The IRT application is open and accessible to all prospective applicants. Application requirements, dates and recordings of the online webinar series “Demystifying IRT’s Admissions Process” are located on the IRT website. IRT staff will focus on specific IRT application components and provide clarity on questions. We encourage students to take advantage of these webinars.

The IRT application will close on March 1, 2022. There will be no exceptions or extensions granted.