Kate Carter

What made you want to pursue teaching?

I had some really phenomenal teachers as a kid and so getting an opportunity to hear the stories—particularly about women, but women who went into education—made me think, 'man I can do anything,' which is great. And hearing people figure out what it is that they want to do and recognize that they can also do anything was a really powerful moment of learning for me.

What made you choose UChicago UTEP?

I was drawn to UTEP because I was interested in coming to Chicago. There's nowhere that you are really going to see as many different things going on in the education world at once. But also when I applied to UTEP we had to go and meet them and meet each other and no other program made you do that. It meant they wanted to build relationships and you could see that they really care who you are as a person, not just what you look like on paper.

What have you carried from UTEP throughout your career?

Working with people at UTEP—both content specialists and teaching specialists—reinvigorated me around problem-based and experiential learning. And I thought if it can happen to me in my 20's then how much more can it be doing for 13 and 14 year olds?