My earliest memories of teaching are the lessons I gave my imaginary classroom when I was seven years old. School was my favorite game to play. However, education was not the path I was to follow initially. I was to be a structural engineer, in the footsteps of my father. I went to the School of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Cornell University and studied the basics of structural engineering. When I graduated, I went straight to my fathers firm in Memphis and began designing buildings.

After four years at my father's firm, marriage to a New Yorker brought me to Manhattan and to a fast-paced firm that designed much larger buildings, including the world's tallest in Malaysia. Over the course of the next two years, I earned professional licensure and was promoted through the ranks to a supervisory role. I was even placed in charge of the design of a 50-story high-rise building in Manhattan, a project I had helped win. Outwardly my career was a success but inwardly I was still struggling and feeling unfulfilled, constantly thinking about teaching. It wasn't until health problems forced me to reassess my priorities that I had the courage to leave engineering and follow my passion.

I went straight into a summer volunteer teaching position where I was allowed to combine my engineering skills with my interest in teaching; I designed and taught my own course, which I termed "I Build". My sixth through eighth grade students in the South Bronx and Brooklyn spent two months learning what architects and engineers do; for their final project, they designed and built a scale model of an original building, based on a community needs assessment. Two challenging months of unpaid work in inner-city schools brought me more satisfaction than six years of engineering consulting. I was finally teaching!

It was through a series of coincidences that I discovered the Salvadori Center (Salvadori) - a non-profit center whose mission is to use engineering and architecture as the platform for project-based middle school education. I spent two years at Salvadori, writing curriculum, teaching in after school programs in the inner city of New York, and conducting teacher-training sessions. More importantly, I collaborated with teachers to develop methods of constructivist, hands-on learning through projects in the built world - at least in theory. Over time, it became clear to me that I needed an education in the field of education. I knew very little about pedagogy, curriculum, assessment, or professional development; it was time to go back to school.

When I decided to pursue a Master's degree in education, I looked for programs in which I could learn more about developing curriculum, supporting teachers and improving instruction in schools. Most programs covered those topics but were designed specifically for teachers or administrators. I was neither, and yet I wanted to learn how to lead efforts for improving instruction in schools, but from the outside. It was important to me that I maintain the fresh perspective I brought to education and keep one foot outside of schools, bridging classroom experience with real world design. The School Development strand of Harvard's School Leadership Program was the only program I found that considered the perspective of individuals working in non-traditional ways to make change in schools. It seemed perfect for me.

This year at Harvard, I have explored the very topics I sought to learn more about, including how to develop and implement constructivist pedagogy, how to support teachers to improve instruction, and how to be an effective leader. The opportunities to engage in discussions about these topics with knowledgeable, experienced faculty and talented, ambitious classmates have pushed my thinking and expanded my horizons. I have grown as an educator and as a person, discovered new things about myself, and gained new confidence. And I have made new friends who share a passion for quality education on whom I can rely for support and encouragement. I am better informed and better prepared to return to a non-profit setting and continue my efforts to bring engineering based design projects to classrooms to support student success.