Name: Bridget Serpe

Title: Match Associate Teacher

School: Match High School

Why do you want to be a teacher?

For me, teaching was not something I always knew I wanted to do. In 2018, I was an AmeriCorps member working as a tutor at Match High School. I had planned to take a year off after my year of service and then go to law school. However, during my year as an AmeriCorps tutor, I fell in love with teaching and working in a high school. I was a study skills tutor working with kids on their executive functioning skills. I also worked as the US History teaching assistant, for which I helped 11th grade students learn the history of our country from an amazing teacher who helped to spark my love of teaching. As the year went on, I started seeing myself as a teacher more and more, so I applied to Sposato’s MAT program. Ever since then, my decision to become a teacher has been affirmed while enrolled in the Sposato and while teaching 12th grade history in my second year at Match High School.

Compared to the start of the school year, how have you grown as a Match Associate Teacher (MAT)? How is teaching similar or different from what you imagined?

I’ve grown immensely since the start of this year. Taking classes and practicing what we learn is at the forefront of that. Teaching is different from how I imagined because I thought it was just something you had to do for a long time to get better at. However, taking classes in Sposato has made me realize that is not the case. There is also pedagogy and things you learn outside the classroom that really help you with the balancing act that is teaching.

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Bridget recently took over @MatchEducation’s Instagram to showcase a day-in-the-life of a high school MAT - check it out here!

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What is your favorite part of the program?

My favorite part of the program is working with my advisor and coach. My coach, Laura, comes into the classroom where I lead teach, observing me and coaching me on how to improve. We meet twice a week to game plan for the week and talk about what she observed. Sometimes we will role play solutions to problems I am having in the classroom, or brainstorm how to make my teaching more student-centered.

Any advice for those who might be considering applying to become a Match Associate Teacher?

When I started, I was not 100% sure of my life’s path, and I still am not. I did, however, have this notion that I had to have my life planned out in order to be teaching and in the position that I am in. That is not the case, and it is something I wish I knew before I started. I know I want to be teaching now, and for the next couple years. This program meets me where I am and helps me figure out my next steps.

If you are interested in learning more about the MAT program and applying for the 2020-2021 school year, click here.