What have mentors--a teacher, a parent, a friend, a coach, etc.--in your life taught you? Write down 3 things you've learned, then think about how you can pass that on to someone younger than you.

Career

Become a mentor. 

Visit the U.S. Department of Education's website to learn more about its role in our government and the duties of the Secretary of Education. What are some policy issues that are important to you? 

Learn what a Secretary of Education does!

Watch this playlist, specially curated by TED staff, of inspiring teachers and how they have all made a difference in students lives. Which talk did you find most inspiring? Why? 

Watch TED Talks from inspiring teachers. 

Education Administrators, Postsecondary

Plan, direct, or coordinate research, instructional, student administration and services, and other educational activities at postsecondary institutions, including universities, colleges, and junior and community colleges.

Enterprising occupations frequently involve starting up and carrying out projects. These occupations can involve leading people and making many decisions. Sometimes they require risk taking and often deal with business.

Enterprising

Second Interest High-Point

Conventional occupations frequently involve following set procedures and routines. These occupations can include working with data and details more than with ideas. Usually there is a clear line of authority to follow.

Conventional

First Interest High-Point

Social occupations frequently involve working with, communicating with, and teaching people. These occupations often involve helping or providing service to others.

Social

Third Interest High-Point

Investigative occupations frequently involve working with ideas, and require an extensive amount of thinking. These occupations can involve searching for facts and figuring out problems mentally.

Investigative

Artistic occupations frequently involve working with forms, designs and patterns. They often require self-expression and the work can be done without following a clear set of rules.

Artistic

Realistic occupations frequently involve work activities that include practical, hands-on problems and solutions. They often deal with plants, animals, and real-world materials like wood, tools, and machinery. Many of the occupations require working outside, and do not involve a lot of paperwork or working closely with others.

Realistic

Job Zone Five: Extensive Preparation Needed

Education Administrators

Management Occupations

Other Management Occupations

Recruit, hire, train, and terminate departmental personnel.

Plan, administer, and control budgets, maintain financial records, and produce financial reports.

Represent institutions at community and campus events, in meetings with other institution personnel, and during accreditation processes.

Participate in faculty and college committee activities.

Provide assistance to faculty and staff in duties such as teaching classes, conducting orientation programs, issuing transcripts, and scheduling events.

Establish operational policies and procedures and make any necessary modifications, based on analysis of operations, demographics, and other research information.

Confer with other academic staff to explain and formulate admission requirements and course credit policies.

Appoint individuals to faculty positions, and evaluate their performance.

Direct activities of administrative departments, such as admissions, registration, and career services.

Develop curricula, and recommend curricula revisions and additions.

Determine course schedules, and coordinate teaching assignments and room assignments to ensure optimum use of buildings and equipment.

Consult with government regulatory and licensing agencies to ensure the institution's conformance with applicable standards.

Participate in student recruitment, selection, and admission, making admissions recommendations when required to do so.

Review student misconduct reports requiring disciplinary action, and counsel students regarding such reports.

Direct scholarship, fellowship, and loan programs, performing activities such as selecting recipients and distributing aid.

Coordinate the production and dissemination of university publications, such as course catalogs and class schedules.

Review registration statistics, and consult with faculty officials to develop registration policies.

Audit the financial status of student organizations and facility accounts.

Plan and promote sporting events and social, cultural, and recreational activities.

Direct and participate in institutional fundraising activities, and encourage alumni participation in such activities.

Advise students on issues such as course selection, progress toward graduation, and career decisions.

Direct, coordinate, and evaluate the activities of personnel, including support staff engaged in administering academic institutions, departments, or alumni organizations.

Formulate strategic plans for the institution.

Promote the university by participating in community, state, and national events or meetings, and by developing partnerships with industry and secondary education institutions.

Write grants to procure external funding, and supervise grant-funded projects.

Oversee facilities management for the university, including construction, repair, and maintenance projects.

Design or use assessments to monitor student learning outcomes.

Prepare reports on academic or institutional data.

Desktop computers

Laptop computers

Liquid crystal display LCD video projectors

Personal computers

Universal serial bus USB flash drives

Adobe Systems Adobe Dreamweaver

Blackbaud The Raiser's Edge

Blackboard

CollegeNET Schedule 25

Data entry software

Ellucian Colleague

Ellucian Degree Works

Enterprise resource planning ERP system

Facebook

FileMaker Pro

Fund accounting software

Human resource management software HRMS

Hypertext markup language HTML

IBM SPSS Statistics

Jenzabar EX

LinkedIn

Microsoft Access

Microsoft Excel

Microsoft Office

Microsoft Outlook

Microsoft PowerPoint

Microsoft Project

Microsoft Publisher

Microsoft SharePoint

Microsoft Visio

Microsoft Word

Minitab

Nolij Corporation Nolij Transfer

Oracle PeopleSoft

Oracle PeopleSoft Financials

Sage 50 Accounting

SAP BusinessObjects Crystal Reports

StataCorp Stata

Student and Exchange Visitor Information System SEVIS

Student information systems SIS

SunGard Higher Education Banner Unified Digital Campus

Web browser software

YouTube

US Secretary of Education

Being the first in your family to attend college is daunting, but rewarding.
 
Follow the journeys of four young people-all first in their families to go to college-as they road-trip across the country to interview inspiring individuals who were also first in their families to pursue higher education.
 
After gaining wisdom and guidance from trail-blazing leaders-including Anna Maria Chávez, CEO of Girl Scouts of the USA, Grammy Award-winner John Legend, and Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz-the Roadtrippers are emboldened to embrace the opportunities ahead and ask "why shouldn't I succeed?"

Why Not Us

(Jasmine) So did you always know that you were going to end up in education or was that like-- So, I had a pretty unique upbringing. I grew up in Hyde park in south side of Chicago which was a middle class integrated neighborhood and my mother started an inner-city tutoring program on the south side of Chicago and literally raised me and my sister and my brother from the time we were born as a part of her program. So I was going to an after school program way before I was going to school. What we saw every day were kids who had huge challenges at home, in the community. Basically none had parents who went to college. Huge violence issues, huge gangs issues, drug issues, but because they had my mom and other people in their lives they went on to do absolutely amazing things. And her philosophy was that fifteen year olds taught the ten year olds and ten year olds taught the five year olds so that the young teenager who taught me when I was growing up was a young man named Carey Holly who, raised by his grandmother, never met his dad, you know all the traditional things, by any measure should have been locked up or whatever. Um, today he is one of the leading research scientists in the United States and is an international leader for IBM. Another guy I grew up with, Corky Lions who, 11 brothers and sisters, used to call the Lion's Den, you know he's a surgeon now. So what I saw in my life was kids who had a chance, yes, real obstacles. Yes, real challenges. When they had people who believed in them, they could do well. So it's a long answer to your question. I never aspired to do, this job I didn't even know existed but to have an impact, first running an after school program myself then helping start a small public school on the outside then working for the Chicago public schools then leading them then coming here, um, this is what I love. This is my passion. And didn't necessarily know it at your age, concretely what that meant but I knew I wanted to help kids who didn't, weren't born with all the advantages that I had, but had as much or more potential and then sort of filled that potential with opportunity. Meet that potential with real opportunity. Did you ever deal with those feelings of self-doubt, like, 'Oh my Gosh, I can't do this.' So I was in college and my first year was a, I really, really struggled and worked harder than I ever had in my life. You know, got the worst grades I ever got. So that was a really tough year for me. My first, I tell kids all the time, my first year was very, very hard. I was home sick. You know you thought about leaving, thought about, 'Can I make it here or not?' I could not have done what I have been able to do if I had sort of given up at my first failure. I've had far too many failures. There is no one who hasn't failed in a pretty spectacular way. Whether it's the president, the vice, you know everybody. I'm a huge, huge fan of President Obama, he's a friend, people, you know sometimes forget he got beat really bad in a local congressional election and uh, coulda quit, coulda walked away, coulda given up, learn from it, figure some stuff out, now he's the leader of the free world. What advice do you have for us moving forward in our life and on the road that we can pass down to others or just keep? (Arne) Since I was ten years old I've had a mentor, a guy I looked up to named John Rogers who was the high school basketball star, I was a little kid and he sort of took me under his wing and it's sort of crazy, that's when I was ten and I'm turning fifty this year so it's literally been for forty years I haven't made a major life decision that I haven't sort of run past him and gotten his advice and his help and to this day that hasn't changed. So find those people who are going to support you in your journey who will help you, who will tell you what you need to hear, not what you want to hear. The second thing is you guys are just amazing role models and leaders now. Like, not future leaders, but like leaders now. And so you guys living this, beyond living on this bus for five weeks and traveling the country, which is fantastic, the example you set every day is huge and don't for a minute forget not just your own family members, brothers, sisters, nieces and nephews but kids on the block, kids in the neighborhood are watching you in ways that you have no idea and the example you're setting, not just by doing this but what you're doing every single day is huge. (Felipe) Mr. Duncan on behalf of all of us, we just want to say thank you so much for your time and your sharing your story and advice. Wondering if you might be able to leave us with a piece of knowledge on here. Do you mind reading it to us if you could? My hand writing is not very good is it? Thanks for the example of grit and leadership you give young people and the nation every day. Proud of you guys. Awesome. Thanks so much. 

Interview

Did you ever deal with those feelings of self-doubt, like, oh my Gosh, I can't do this? >> So I was in college and my first year, I really, really struggled. And I worked harder than I ever had in my life, got the worst grades I ever got. So that was a really tough year for me. I tell kids all the time, my first year was very, very hard. I was homesick, I thought about leaving, thought about can I make it here or not. I could not have done what I have been able to do if I had sort of given up at my first failure, cuz I've had far too many failures. There is no one who hasn't failed in a pretty spectacular way. Whether it's the president, everybody. I'm a huge, huge fan of President Obama. He's our friend. People sometimes forget, he got beat really bad on a local congressional election and could have quit, could have walked away, could have given up, learned from it, figured some stuff out. Now he's the leader of the free world. 

Failure

Perseverance

Don't Give Up After Your First Failure

So did you always know that you were going to end up in education or is that like? >> I never aspired to do this job I didn't even know existed, but to have an impact first running an app store program myself. Then helping start a small public school on the outside and working for the Chicago public schools and leading them. Coming here, this is what I love, this is my passion and didn't necessarily know it at you age concretely what that meant. But I knew I wanted to help kids who weren't born with all of the advantages that I had but has as much or more potential. And it sort of filled that potential, meet that potential with real opportunity >> Did you ever deal with feelings of self doubt, like oh my gosh I can't do this? >> So I was in college, and my first year, I really, really struggled. I worked harder than I ever did in my life. Got the worst grades I ever got. So that was a really tough year for me. I tell kids all the time, my first year was very, very hard. I was homesick. Thought about leaving, thought about can I make it here or not? I could not have done what I had been able to do if I had sort of given up with my first failure because I had far too many failures. 

Arne Duncan Highlight

What advice do you have for us moving forward in our life and on the road that we can pass down to others or just keep? >> Since I was 10-years-old, I've had a mentor, a guy I looked up to named John Rogers, who was the high school basketball star. I was a little kid and he sorta took me under his wing and it's sort of crazy. That's when I was ten and I'm turning 50 this year. So it's, literally, been for 40 years, I haven't made a major life decision that I haven't run past him and gotten his advice and his help and, to this day, that hasn't changed. So, find those people who are going to support you in your journey who will help you. Who will tell you what you need to hear, not what you want to hear. The second thing is just you guys are just amazing role models and leaders now, like not future leaders, like leaders now. And so you guys living this, living on this bus for five weeks and traveling the country was just fantastic. The example you set every day is huge and don't for a minute forget, not just your own family members, brothers, sisters, nieces, nephews, but kids on the block where you grew up because the neighborhood are watching you in ways that you have no idea. And the example you're setting, again, not just by doing this but what you're doing every single day is huge. >> Mr. Duncan, on behalf of all of us, I just want to say thank you so much for your time and your sharing your story and your advice. Wondering if you might be able to leave us with a piece of knowledge on here? >> Do you mind reading it to us if you could? >> My handwriting isn't very good, is it? >> [LAUGH] >> Thanks for the example of grit and leadership you give young people and the nation every day. I'm proud of you guys. 

Community

Honesty

Support & Encouragement

Find Mentors

So did always know that you were gonna end up in education? [LAUGH] Or is that like- >> So I had a pretty unique upbringing. I grew up in Hyde Park in South Side of Chicago, which is a middle class integrated neighborhood. And my mother started an inner city tutoring program on the South Side of Chicago. And literally raised me and my sister and brother from the time we were born as a part of her program. [LAUGH] So I was going to an after school program way before I was going to school. What we saw every day were kids who had huge challenges at home, in the community. Basically, none had parents who went to college. Huge violence issues, huge gang issues, drug issues. But because they had my mom and other people in their lives, they went on to do absolutely amazing things. And her philosophy was the 15 year olds taught the ten year olds, and ten year olds taught the five year olds. So the young teenager who taught me when I was growing up, was a young man named Carrie Holly, who raised by his grandmother. Never met his dad all the traditional things by any measure should've been locked up or whatever. Today, he is one of the leading Research Scientists in the United States and is a International Leader for IBM. Another guy I grew up with Corky Lions, who had 11 brothers and sisters, used to talk of a lions den. Hes a surgeon now. So, what I saw in my life was that kids who had a chance, yes real obstacles, yes real challenges. When they had people who believed in, they could do well. There's a long answer to your questions. I never aspired to do this job, I didn't even know it existed. But to have an impact first, running an after-school program myself. And helping start a small public school on the outside, and working with the Shegal Public Schools and leading them and coming here. This is what I love, this is my passion. And I didn't necessarily know it at your age concretely what that meant, but I knew I wanted to help kids. Who weren't born with all the advantages that I had, but had as much or more potential. And they sort of filled that potential with opportunity. Meet that potential with real opportunity. 

Inspiration

Unique Upbringing

I've done two things in my life. I played basketball for a couple years, and the rest of my life I've worked in education. And those were my two passions. And there have been times when I've made a lot of money. There have been times I made very little money. And, quite honestly, it didn't matter much to me because I've always done what I loved. I feel so lucky to have done that. I have lots of friends I grew up with who have been more successful financially than me, but I don't think they are happier. I don't think they've had, frankly, as meaningful a life, or think they've had the impact. I would say trying to figure out over time what you would do everyday because you love to do it. I'm still trying to figure out what I do when I grow up. >> [LAUGH] >> So you don't have to have it all solved today. But what would you just get up every single day and do just because you love it? What's your genius? What's your passion? 

Goals

Money & Financial Security

Passion

What's Your Genius

So where were you between the ages of 19 and 24? >> Between 19 and 24, let me think. >> [LAUGH] >> That's a long time ago. I'm old unlike you guys. So I was in college until 21, so a couple of years in school. And then my first four years after college I was actually playing professional basketball in Australia, living there. Eight, nine months of the year and coming back, so either college or on the other side of the world. >> Did you ever deal with those feelings of self-doubt, like if you were about to go into a new project, or a basketball game, or something like, oh, my gosh, I can't do this? And how did you deal with it? >> I failed lots of times, I've been cut by more teams than you need to know. [LAUGH]. >> [LAUGH]. >> I went to a really good, extraordinary high school Relatively small school. And you go from being sort of a big fish in a small pond. So I went to college. And my first year I really, really struggled. And I worked harder than I ever had in my life, got the worst grades I ever got. And so that was a really tough year for me. Luckily sorta stayed with it and parents encouraged me to stay with it and work through it and over time you worked a little less hard but your grades got better because you figured out what to study, what not to study. I was playing basketball. That started to go better. But there's been lots of time where just I've struggled where I've just flat out failed and that perseverance, that tenacity, that resilience, that all of you guys by definition have that you're here. That's a huge, huge deal. And I think about that all the time. The kids I worked with back home, yes we worked a lot on the academic part, in better math skills and better reading skills and better writing skills. But we spent a huge amount of time talking about, how do you overcome adversity. How do you get through those things when you stumble and fall, do you give up, do you give into self doubt? Do you walk away, or do you sort of challenge yourself and get through that. And those skills, some people call them soft skills. I hate that term, cuz these are not soft skills, these are skills that you need for life. And so where we can help to teach them, where we can help to instill them. I could not have done right what I have been able to do if I had sort of given up in my first failure. Because I've had far too many failures. So while challenged, the question is when you challenge what do you do. Do you give up, do you throw in the white flag, or do you figure out how to work better, work smarter, get some help, get some support, talk about it. And that's a huge, huge deal, and has been, I think maybe not just for me, but for everybody. There's no one who hasn't failed in a pretty spectacular way. 

Arne Duncan

US Secretary of Education

Videos

Arne Duncan

Milestones

Education

Career

Career Roadmap

My work combines:

My work combines:

Education

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Teaching / Mentoring