Higher Achievement Interview

After thinking for a while that I would be home being a summer recreation counselor for my third summer, I received a call from the Higher Achievement Program of Richmond. A month early I had applied to be a math teacher at their summer academy, the first week of which I would miss due to my brother’s out-of-the-country wedding. I had emailed with the recruitment manager before applying, but I did not have much hope for being considered for the job due to my family obligation. Hence my surprise when I received an early evening call from that same recruitment manager asking if I would be interested in a new job as a center aid for the Richmond Summer Academy. After weighing my options and thinking about the pay and housing here in Richmond, I decided that there was no way I could pass up this amazing opportunity to work with this successful (time-proven) organization of people dedicated to students and educational opportunity.

In order to give you a glimpse as to the magnitude, in my opinion, of this opportunity, I’ll explain a little more about Higher Achievement. Taken from their website, “Higher Achievement’s rigorous after-school and summer academic program gives youth from at-risk communities their best opportunity to succeed in middle school — and in life” (higherachievement.org). I do not have a clear job or career in mind for after college; however, my interests and classes in which I become most invested tend to be around education and people. Hence, I believe that this opportunity to work with Higher Achievement could provide me with an insight into a different approach to education than the public schools, while still working directly, and sometimes indirectly, with and for students. The focus is on the students, where it should be. All of that to say that I have become more and more excited since I have been seriously considered for this job and had the interview, with which I felt quite confident after completion.

I found the interview to be quite an interesting and beneficial experience in multiple different ways, the first of which being a reflective process for me. I was able to reflect before and after the interview on how I have grown in my experiences and thinking these past few years in college, which I realize makes me feel quite accomplished with how far I’ve come. Through my education and women, gender & sexuality studies classes, and my classroom and leadership experiences, I have had to grapple with issues that had never crossed my mind before. All of these conversations and experiences prepared me for this specific conversation (the interview). Although the interviewers were doing most of the question-asking, I certainly felt as if it was a conversation, as they were nodding and “mhmm”ing, indicating to me that they understood, and possibly agreed, with what I was saying. Assuming I interpreted their reactions correctly to my answers and comments about education, I realized that I may have a greater handle on issues within and surrounding education than I would have known otherwise.

For example, I explained a difficult situation I had with a child misbehaving at my summer recreation job, which concluded by saying that through working with my co-workers and supervisors, the child was able to get the attention that her misbehaving was indicating she desired. Several of the interviewers nodded fervently, which indicated to me that I said something with which they agreed. Immediately after the interview, as I was still replaying my responses to their questions, I began to wonder if they would understand that I was being 100% sincere and genuine with my answers, as I could see that people critical of what I may know about education as a junior in college may have viewed my answers as being a bit too insightful. However, after putting myself in their shoes, I believe that they will assume authenticity, which I certainly hope I gave off in my demeanor and the fervor with which I answered the questions. Ultimately, I learned quite a bit about myself, the grasp that I have on educational issues, and how I interview. I do feel quite confident in how I did in the interview, while at the same time recognizing that I could prepare more extensively in the future to give me more succinct responses. Regardless, I am anxiously waiting a reply as to my standing for the job. We shall see!