This year’s Teaching and Teaching Leadership Graduate Assistant team brings together a wide range of backgrounds, perspectives, and experiences that reflect the diversity of the HGSE community. Throughout the 2026–2027 academic year, the TTL GAs will support the program through student outreach, recruitment, community engagement, and other initiatives that connect current and prospective students with the TTL experience. In this post, we invite you to get to know the students behind that work, learn what brought them to HGSE, and hear their advice for prospective students considering their own journey to the Teaching and Teaching Leadership program！

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What brought you to HGSE?

While I did not study education in undergrad, I constantly found myself participating in extracurricular activities in the field. I mentored high school students, assisted with undergraduate courses, worked with an Education nonprofit, and travelled to China to teach psychology. These experiences helped me realize how passionate I am about education and working directly with students. HGSE felt like (and has been) the perfect place for me to get the training and support needed to become the best educator I can be!

What is one thing you wish you knew before coming to HGSE?

As I thought of entering a graduate program, I wondered what the community would be like. Would people be like me, or older and with more experience? Would I click with them, or would we only take classes together and then go our separate ways? However, I have found that the best part of HGSE so far has been the community! TTL’s cohort model has helped us build a strong community of educators, developing relationships that go beyond the classroom. I wish I knew I would find a wonderful group of people to share this experience with and lean on!

What is your best advice for prospective students?

Be ready to engage in constant self-reflection! One of the core components of the TTL classwork is that, no matter what we are learning, we will always find a way to reflect on how the content shows up in our teaching practice and the ways we have engaged with the ideas from class. This has been one of my favorite aspects of the program so far, but also one that can be initially challenging. As you apply, think of the ways you plan to self-reflect!

What are you most excited to contribute to as a TTL GA this year?

As TTL students, we lead a sort of double life: we are teachers by day and students by night. I look forward to sharing my HGSE experiences, both from inside and outside the classroom, as well as sharing all the fun activities that I and other TTL students engage in outside our academics.

What is your favorite spot or activity around Harvard/Cambridge?

I love to go latin dancing in Havana in Central Square, just a 15 minute walk from Harvard Square!

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What brought you to HGSE?

Working with youth has always felt deeply personal to me. My teaching experience with Summerbridge Hong Kong reaffirmed what I already knew: I feel most fulfilled in a classroom, watching my students grow, learning what makes them smile, and bringing their interests into my teaching. Pursuing teacher education after undergrad felt like a natural next step. I chose TTL at HGSE because of its emphasis on growth through multiple layers of feedback and coursework that complements what I learn through student teaching each day. I wanted a space where I could continuously reflect, learn from others, and become a better educator for my students.

What is one thing you wish you knew before coming to HGSE?

Always make new mistakes. Teaching is incredibly rewarding, but it can also be draining when a lesson does not go as planned. Dr. Pamela Mason shared this message with us early in the semester, and it has stayed with me. I’ve learned that mistakes are not a sign that I’m falling short, but a necessary part of becoming a better educator. Learn from them, give yourself grace, and keep trying something new.

What is your best advice for prospective students?

Come to HGSE ready to redefine your relationship with feedback. Growth often comes from embracing discomfort, receiving feedback with grace, staying open to perspectives that challenge your own, and trying new things. You are not coming here because you have everything figured out; you are coming to learn, reflect, and grow alongside others doing the same.

What are you most excited to contribute to as a TTL GA this year?

I’m excited to connect with prospective TTL applicants, especially those interested in the licensure strand, and share my experiences with TTL, student teaching, and continuous growth as an educator！

What is your favorite spot or activity around Harvard/Cambridge?

Gutman Library for studying and getting froyo from BerryLine!

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What brought you to HGSE?

I wanted to get out of my comfort zone, both academically and personally, and to challenge myself to believe in myself. I wanted to learn from my diverse faculty and peers, to dive deeper into teaching, equitable education, and improving college access. 

What is one thing you wish you knew before coming to HGSE?

You don’t have to have everything figured out before coming here. There is so much room to learn, grow, and explore!

What is your best advice for prospective students?

Believe in yourself and permit yourself to dream bigger! Go out and change the world!

What are you most excited to contribute to as a TTL GA this year?

As a GA and a first-generation college student, I am excited to share my experiences, build community, and support future students as they navigate their own journeys.

What is your favorite spot or activity around Harvard/Cambridge?

I’m still exploring but so far I’ve loved the process of trying new foods around Cambridge and Boston!

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What brought you to HGSE?

Before HGSE, I worked across India and Ghana as a Teach For India Fellow and later in teacher development, curriculum, and education programs. Over time, my question shifted from how I could better support my own students to how we can build systems that give every teacher the support and opportunities they need to help students thrive. Working with public schools, teachers, school leaders, and education systems made me want to explore that question more deeply and understand how these systems can be strengthened at scale.

What is one thing you wish you knew before coming to HGSE?

I wish I had known how much freedom there is to shape your own experience here. There are so many courses, professors, schools, and opportunities that you simply cannot do everything. I’ve learned that you do not have to follow a predictable path, and some of my most rewarding experiences have come from unexpected choices, like taking System Dynamics at MIT Sloan.

What is your best advice for prospective students?

Come with some experience in the area you care about and, more importantly, with real questions from that experience. Readings and discussions become much more meaningful when you can connect them to something you have actually seen or struggled with. Be intentional about choosing courses based on the problem you want to solve and the skills or perspectives you want to build.

What are you most excited to contribute to as a TTL GA this year?

I’m excited to help prospective students get a more authentic sense of what it is like to be a TTL student, especially those thinking deeply about teacher development and education systems.

What is your favorite spot or activity around Harvard/Cambridge?

Watching sunsets from my balcony or the John W. Weeks Bridge, spending time with friends, meeting new people, and exploring Cambridge!

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What brought you to HGSE?

Initially, it was the program. I wanted to become an ELA teacher, earn my teaching license, and I really resonated with the values of the program. I also did not have any teaching experience, and on paper the internship model within TTL program seemed like a good fit. Then after being accepted, I made the choice to come to HGSE because of the sense of community I experienced during Admitted StudentsDay. I met other first-gen students like myself and I also felt very supported by my advisor. I think the combination of the program and the people who make up this program brought me here.

What is one thing you wish you knew before coming to HGSE?

I wish I had known just how much teaching would push me out of my comfort zone. Coming in with no previous teaching experience, I had to constantly learn by doing and challenge myself in ways I hadn’t fully anticipated. I knew the one-year program would be intense, balancing teaching and coursework, but I don’t think I understood what that really meant until I experienced it. At the same time, that rigor is what makes the experience so meaningful. You are challenged constantly, but you are also surrounded by support from advisors, instructors, peers, teaching fellows, and teacher mentors. I’ve learned that growth often comes from being pushed beyond what feels comfortable.

What is your best advice for prospective students?

I would say to take some time to reflect on what you are looking for and what you want from your graduate education. Talk to admissions, current students and try to get a sense of whether the program aligns with your values and what you are hoping to get out of the experience. One thing I really appreciate about HGSE, and I truly feel it in the ELA licensure strand, is how serious the work of education and the process of becoming an educator is taken. I think it’s important to find a program where you feel that your goals and values are taken seriously as well.

What are you most excited to contribute to as a TTL GA this year?

I genuinely enjoy talking to people, so I’m really excited to meet prospective students and answer any questions they may have! I hope to provide honest insight into what it’s like to be part of the HGSE community and help prospective students as they navigate the process of making a choice for themselves. So please don’t hesitate to reach out! I’m always happy to answer questions or chat about what life at HGSE is like.

What is your favorite spot or activity around Harvard/Cambridge?

I like to bike around Cambridge whenever I can!

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We’re so excited to have this year’s TTL graduate assistants supporting prospective students and sharing their experiences along the way! We hope their stories inspire you, help you picture yourself in the TTL community, and remind you that there are many different paths into teaching and educational leadership. We can’t wait to see all that this team contributes throughout the year—and to welcome the next group of future educators to HGSE!