Institute for Recruitment of Teachers

Associate Director & Manager of Programs Update, April 2025

Embracing Change and Supporting IRT Scholars: A Commitment to Growth and Well-Being

As the educational landscape continues to evolve, it’s essential to remember that IRT is steadfast in its commitment to your well-being, your capacity for learning, and your desire to make a difference. We understand that the challenges facing today’s scholars are unique, and we remain here to support you.

The admissions committee is hard at work reviewing over 100 applications for our new cohort, set to begin in June. Our advising team is equally dedicated to assisting our current cohort as they navigate the next steps in their academic journeys. Many are eagerly awaiting responses from colleges and universities regarding their acceptance decisions and funding packages. Additionally, we’re providing critical support to scholars who have been affected by institutions reducing cohort sizes or rescinding acceptance offers due to financial constraints. This situation highlights the unpredictability of today’s academic environment, but we remain committed to guiding our scholars in making informed choices.

New Book by Tiffany Joseph, IRT ’03 Comments on the US Healthcare System

For nearly a decade, respected sociologist and Northeastern University professor Tiffany Joseph, Andover ’00, IRT ’03, researched the impact of health reforms like the Affordable Care Act/Obamacare on everyday people’s ability to access health coverage and care in our complicated US healthcare system. In her new book, NOT ALL IN: RACE, IMMIGRATION, AND HEALTH CARE EXCLUSION IN THE AGE OF OBAMACARE (Johns Hopkins University Press; March 2025), Joseph reveals how Obamacare’s documentation status exclusions alongside persistent structural racism in the healthcare system reduced healthcare access for Latino immigrants and citizens. Her 200+ interviews with immigrants, providers, and advocates in Boston drives home an essential point: access to coverage does not guarantee access to care in a system that prioritizes profits over people.

Hope As a Practice

Viviana Cordero García, IRT ’15
Chief Alumni Success Officer, Esperanza Academy

Seven years ago, I walked through the doors of Esperanza Academy with big dreams and bigger questions. I was building my life as an educator and leader, a leader in a community that reminded me of my own—where stories of strength often begin with sacrifice. Since then, I’ve grown a program, a family, a team, and, most importantly, a deeper sense of what it means to sustain hope in times that test it.

Hope, esperanza, for me, is not wishful thinking. It is a practice. A verb. A discipline of presence.

I sustain hope by staying rooted in relationships—with my students and alumni, with their mothers and abuelitas, with my team, with fellow nonprofit leaders and board members who share in the long-haul work of justice, with my ancestors, and with the younger version of me who needed someone to say, “You belong here.” I hold space for grief and joy to exist at the same table because, in our community, they always do.

IRT 2025 Summer Workshop Framework

Grace Lee Boggs (1915–2015), the first Asian American woman
to earn a Ph.D. in philosophy from Bryn Mawr College, profoundly stated: “You don’t choose the times you live in, but you do choose who you want to be, and you do choose how you want to think.”

At the Institute for Recruitment of Teachers (IRT), the IRT staff with Co-Curriculum Coordinators, Heather Moore Roberson, IRT ’07, ’10, Ryan Sermon, IRT ’10, and Renée Wilmot, IRT ’12, ’17 – embark on planning the forthcoming Summer Workshop (SW), this sentiment guides our intent. We are committed to crafting a curriculum that meets scholars where they are, provides critical guidance to meet this moment, and demystifies the graduate application process. In shaping this year’s workshop, we have carefully considered feedback from our stakeholders, including current scholars, SW faculty, advisors, alumni, and our Consortium of Colleges and Universities.

Heather, Ryan, and Renée share their motivations and expectations for this year’s workshop.

Alumni Reunite for Summer Workshop Experience

The IRT is thrilled to have Heather Moore Roberson, IRT ’07, ’10 Ryan Sermon, IRT ’10, and Renée Wilmot, IRT ’12, ’17 return as Summer Workshop Co-Curriculum Coordinators. They took a few moments to share what brings them back and their expectations for this year’s workshop.

Heather Moore Roberson is the Dean of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at Allegheny College. Heather received her M.A. and Ph.D. from the American Studies program at Purdue University.

What motivates you to return as a Co-Curriculum Coordinator?

I have had the honor and privilege to serve as a member of the faculty since 2016. After I received my Ph.D., it was vital for me to get reconnected with the next generation of teacher scholars who will transform higher education. I would not be a faculty member/administrator if it wasn’t for the IRT Summer Workshop. IRT continues to be an integral part of my village. As a curriculum coordinator, I get to share my experiences and insights that will help scholars thrive in K-16 environments.