Advising – Institute for Recruitment of Teachers

Associate Director & Manager of Programs Update, March 2026

Spring Advising: Wherever You Are, We Are With You

Spring has always been a season of transition, and this season is no exception. Some of you are sitting with exciting news. Others are experiencing uncertainty, disappointment, or exhaustion. IRT holds space for all of this. However this application season landed for you, know that you are still seen, still supported, and still very much a part of this community.

Congratulations to Our Admitted Scholars

We know that several of you have been admitted into your graduate programs of choice. Congratulations! We are so incredibly proud of you. This is the result of your own hard work, your courage to keep going, and the knowledge and vision you have been carrying all along. We cannot wait to see where this next chapter takes you.

The IRT Effect: Charting Ph.D. Completion

Leislie Godo-Solo, IRT ’91
Education Programs Specialist, Institute for Recruitment of Teachers

Recently, I was chosen to participate in the 4^th annual cohort of the Phillips Academy Head of School Leadership Development Program (HOS-LDP) alongside 11 other individuals from the following schools: Pomfret School, St Paul’s School, Deerfield Academy, Lick- Wilmerding High School, and Phillips Academy. The 8-month program consisted of an in person, two-day leadership retreat, twice-monthly cohort meetings with guest lecturers and readings, 10 hours of professional coaching, the opportunity to enroll in a leadership course taught by Harvard’s online Business School, a capstone project and presentation that addressed a departmental or institutional priority, and a closing dinner including a certificate award ceremony.

IRT Advising: Then & Now

Leislie Godo-Solo, IRT ’91
Education Programs Specialist, Institute for Recruitment of Teachers

On June 2^nd, 2025, I began onboarding the 35^th IRT Cohort, which includes 135 Scholars! How time flies, quite literally. It was just yesterday that I found myself on the Phillips Academy campus as a senior planning to apply to a variety of graduate schools in two fields nonetheless – Spanish Literature and Higher Education (sound familiar?), and part of one of the biggest in-person IRT Summer Workshops ever held, numbering 42 individuals. I can tell you stories, lol!

While much has stayed the same, much also has changed as it relates to the IRT Advising program. A dedicated IRT team continues to support IRT Scholars every year as they pursue advanced degrees in the humanities, social sciences, math, and education, and the scholars’ camaraderie remains strong in a virtual world and in the face of great challenges to isolate us from one another. LaShawnda Brooks, Catherine Wong, and I serve as school list advisors and work closely with each scholar to create a well-rounded school list that supports the academic endeavors that each student plans to pursue, and one that considers their personal well-being and the political climate as well. It is no small feat to assist IRT Scholars in this new educational environment.

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.

Your Job Now is to Tell Your Story

Anthony Garciano, IRT ’24

Hello! I’m Anthony, a current IRT scholar teaching third graders in Xiamen, China. It’s incredible to think that the brunt of graduate school applications is behind us, with many of us already receiving acceptances to stellar programs across the country. Congratulations! We’ve accomplished so much together, thanks in no small part to the IRT program and our advisors.