In 1988, Wendy Kopp then a senior at Princeton U, caught a wild hair idea that students her age wanted real work an not just a ticket to ride the hot shot express to fame and fortune but a job that would make a serious contribution in the neighborhoods nobody wanted to work in. One school administrator was so shocked that a Princeton graduate would want a job in his school district that he promised to hire all the proposed 500 candidates. Wendy Kopp ran with that wild pass to found Teach for America and a program that recruits college graduates to teach for two years in schools in low-income communities throughout the USA.
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
Wendy Kopp-- Presidential Citizens Medal
In 1988, Wendy Kopp then a senior at Princeton U, caught a wild hair idea that students her age wanted real work an not just a ticket to ride the hot shot express to fame and fortune but a job that would make a serious contribution in the neighborhoods nobody wanted to work in. One school administrator was so shocked that a Princeton graduate would want a job in his school district that he promised to hire all the proposed 500 candidates. Wendy Kopp ran with that wild pass to found Teach for America and a program that recruits college graduates to teach for two years in schools in low-income communities throughout the USA.
