Cameron Bonney
Class of 2002

After graduating UCSB in 2002 with a double major in Global Studies and Biological Sciences, I joined up with Teach for America and attended their Summer Institute at Fordham University in New York. Teach for America is a national organization that places recent college grads in low-income schools in more than 20 cities, forming a network with the common goal that students everywhere should have equal access to quality education regardless of class or race. Between attending classes and workshops, planning lessons, and teaching a 6th grade summer school class, I was able to see a lot of New York and met some amazing people from all over the country.

In Fall of 2002, I was placed in South Central Los Angeles at Lynwood High School as a 9th grade general science teacher. I found out first-hand how different high schools in urban areas are from my own suburban high school experience. Lynwood is full of unmotivated and underprepared teachers who care more about keeping their jobs than helping students succeed, an overworked administration, stifling bureaucracy and mismanagement at the district level, and a school culture of apathy and failure. I helped to bring about a change in science curriculum that would meet University of California A-G requirements for admissions, and am currently teaching a UC-approved Biology course at a new school site for 9th graders in Lynwood. This year I have been involved with a Faculty Leadership Team intent on making organization-wide changes at our school to increase student achievement, and have started a morning A.P. Biology study group that meets 3 times a week for an hour before school to prepare for the A.P. exam in May. I'm also finishing up a 2-year Master's Program in Education at Loyola Marymount University,where I attend classes with other T.F.A. corps members at night.

Almost done with my 2-year Teach for America commitment and thinking about moving on, I'm now applying to medical school in hopes of establishing a family practice in a community of need. I'm interested in bridging my experience with education into my future clinical practice, perhaps eventually entering the field of public health policy. My experience in the Global Studies Program and travels to Europe, Mexico, Australia, and New Zealand in recent years were definitely influencial in helping me to become a "globally-minded" person, and I am hoping to bring this perspective into my next career!

Cameron Bonney
cameronbonney@hotmail.com

[Posted: 2-17-04]

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