This post was written by Maggie Weinreb, a DonorsChoose.org summer intern. When I was little, I chose math workbooks instead of coloring books. So, it comes as no surprise that I now want to be a high school math teacher. Beginning in eighth grade, a graphing calculator was mandatory, which seemed to be no problem for my school district. Throughout high school, my classes had access to different technologies, such as SMART boards and clickers, to learn math in the most cutting-edge way. So it really shocked me when I discovered that others may not have the same opportunities that I had. When I first heard about DonorsChoose.org, I found a project that needed graphing calculators for their AP Calculus course. It really bothered me that students would have gotten so far in their math career without materials I had taken for granted.This summer, I got the opportunity to intern at DonorsChoose.org. I had never realized how many teams and employees it took to run the organization, and I was simply amazed how hard everyone works on different tasks to simply ensure that students get the items they need for a successful school year. I worked on two different teams at the office—Marketing and Feedback. For Marketing, I dug through our teacher database to find outstanding superstar-teachers that needed to be recognized! I then researched teacher awards that we could nominate our teachers for. I ended up nominating two teachers for the People Magazine’s “Teacher of the Year Award” (look for magazines out in October and cross your fingers)! For the Feedback team, I found more fantastic teachers to represent DonorsChoose.org in media opportunities. Often, DonorsChoose.org gets specific requests for media spokespeople, so I created a database so that the perfect person could be easily found.I enjoyed my time on both teams and loved seeing how every position is essential to benefit the entire organization. I am so glad to have had this opportunity, and can’t wait to be a DonorsChoose.org teacher one day!
