Funded Interns Share Their Summer Stories | #education | #technology | #training | #hacking | #aihp

Shoshi Gordon ’24, education and English

Gordon was a teaching fellow at Breakthrough Manchester, a New Hampshire-based program with a dual mission to inspire and train college and high school students to be teachers. It also works with primarily first-generation, low-income, high-achieving middle school students on the path to college. At her location, Gordon taught seventh-grade writing. Breakthrough Manchester gives fellows a curriculum, but because this was her second year participating, she was able to expand and change it. In the classroom, she and her students created ‘zines (miniature magazines) and wrote essays. Outside the classroom, she ran an extracurricular yearbook committee and a student council committee. In addition to gaining teaching experience, she also ran parent-teacher conferences.

What advice would you give to a student who was also interested in education but was unsure of where to start?

“The best path is to talk to Meg Springer or someone at CXD. People at Bowdoin—your professors, a teacher advisor—really care about you. And then just apply to programs. I applied to the Funded Internship program and thought, “This can’t be, this is too good to be true!” and I’m so happy that I did. In high school, it can be scary to take your shot and talk to your professors, but as you get older, you realize you might as well just do it. And you’ll figure it out from there.

These internships aren’t only about work, they’re also about the people you collaborate with. What new bonds did you make or existing relationships did you strengthen?

“I’ve met some of my best friends from the program. I worked there last year and have friends I still talk to. It’s wonderful because you get a range of ages and experiences. This summer, we had people from the ages of seventeen to twenty-three working. People who spend their summer wanting to teach and work with kids are some of the kindest, most passionate, and patient people, and it’s amazing to get to be in a space where you’re all so excited and have the energy to innovate.”