Name: Nausheen Mahmood
Site: Breakthrough Silicon Valley
Subject: Algebra
Academic Elective: Medicine
School/year: Stanford University, Class of 2014

It is mindblowing to see what six weeks at Breakthrough can do for teachers and students. On the last day, the students did a wonderful activity for the teachers where they filled individual jars with Thank You notes and cheered us on as we received them. The directors asked the teachers to close their eyes, and told the students to tap a teacher if they had challenged them in class, truly cared about their success, and inspired them to be the best they can be. I was humbled with every tap on my back, wishing the best for my students and finally realizing the impact this program has on their lives.

I sincerely thank Breakthrough for enabling me to make this difference – it’s not everyday that this happens. I have seen many students step out of their shells and learn to challenge themselves to go places they didn’t even think they could. I could say that the same process happened with me - I discovered and developed new strengths through teaching.

Two things that I have really improved on are public speaking and taking constructive criticism. In the first week, I was sweating bullets in front of my kids – and they picked up on my stress very quickly! I was very focused on finishing my lesson completely, which made for a very tense classroom environment the first couple weeks. As I got used to teaching and dealing with problems on the spot, however, I became much more flexible in class and comfortable taking authority when needed.

Before Breakthrough, I never took constructive criticism in a, well, constructive way; I would become discouraged by the negatives and would disregard them. With Breakthrough, however, I urged my mentor teachers to give me that constructive feedback. I asked them to come to my more difficult classes and use those for my evaluations. Teaching was something I was NOT naturally good at, and I wanted to improve for my students. They deserved the best math teacher I could be, which was only possible when I recognized my weaknesses and took feedback from mentor teachers.

I plan to continue being involved with Breakthrough during the school year, hopefully mentoring students and helping them with high school applications. It really is a life changing experience – for students and teachers alike.