ALLENDALE, Mich. -- Jennifer Ventimiglia, an April 2005 Grand Valley graduate, wanted to do something meaningful with her education. It was out of that desire that she applied for Teach for America. She has just become one of the few accepted into the program.
Teach For America is a national corps of outstanding recent college graduates of all academic majors who commit two years to teach in urban and rural public schools. She was chosen from more than 17,000 graduating seniors and alumni. Ventimiglia was assigned to the Washington, D.C. area to teach this fall. "That area was my number one choice," said Ventimiglia. "I will be teaching English as a Second Language (ESL). I'm excited because the goals of Teach For America line up with my thinking. I want to focus on narrowing the achievement gap and teaching students how to think and enjoy learning so they can apply that knowledge to their lives."
Teach For America is highly selective, with approximately 16 percent of total applicants gaining admission in 2004. Ninety-three percent of those accepted held leadership positions on their campuses or in their communities and on average earned GPAs of 3.5.
Ventimiglia, a native of Clinton Township, earned a 3.8 GPA with a double major in Group Social Studies and International Relations. She will spend two years teaching in Washington, D.C., and upon completion of her term, will have met the requirements to earn her teaching certificate and master's degree. She credits Grand Valley's Community Working Classics (CWC) program with preparing her for Teach For America. The CWC program involves designing a course curriculum and offers teaching opportunities. Ventimiglia designed a course about U.S. history and another about events from 1968. She taught a reading course at the Muskegon Correctional Facility and for students in the Job Corps.
For more information, contact Grand Valley's News and Information department at 616-331-2221.
