Videos

By Roadtrip Nation

Allen Lee

Milestones

My road in life has taken me all over.
Grew up in Conway, South Carolina, amidst a lot of racial tension within his community—says this sparked his early interest in social justice and youth engagement.
After graduating from Davidson College with his degree in political science, he spent a year working a lot of different jobs on campus...including polishing the trophy case!
He got a job as a temporary student teacher through a program that sought to get minorities interested in teaching private school.
Discovered how much he loved teaching, but struggled with limited opportunities because he was a minority candidate without a teaching degree.
The school eventually offered to combine two part-time positions teaching Spanish and art into one full-time job for him—says, “You have to be open to opportunities. Why not?!”
Moved to Atlanta where he applied to Teach for America—he ended up teaching in public schools for over 10 years.
Attended Georgia State University as a graduate student and received his master’s degree in teaching.
Was a volunteer at the Center for Civil and Human Rights before he was hired full time—encourages people to get involved in as many different ways as they can.
Keep following my journey

Career

Senior Public Programs & Education Manager

I manage a team that develops public programs, educational content, & strategic partnerships.

Career Roadmap

Roadmap
My work combines:
My work combines:
Education
Non-Profit Organizations
Helping People

Day to Day

Morning check in with the team on current initiatives, mid-morning organizational meeting or connections with potential program / education partners. Afternoon program evaluation and long term planning.

Advice for Getting Started

Here's the first step for everyone

Find a solid organization or other resources to guide / mentor you in areas where you are weak. Find out the certifications, associations that matter and can help you develop the network that you need.

Recommended Education

My career is related to what I studied. I'd recommend the path I took:

Hurdles

The Noise I Shed

From Society in General:

"Why would you want to be a teacher, I thought you were really going to do something big. "

Challenges I Overcame

Racial Discrimination
Self-Esteem Issues
School Stress