Advocating for Educational Reform

The demand for people with strong mathematical and science skills has been steadily growing. Yet, too often, the education students receive today has not kept pace with the diverse ways mathematics and science are used in an ever-changing world. That’s why the Charles A. Dana Center at The University of Texas at Austin works to dismantle barriers in education systems to ensure all students—especially those from diverse backgrounds—have equitable access to an excellent education. As an intern on the Dana Center's policy team, I was responsible for projects such as:​

• Researching, summarizing, and presenting bills for a recap of Texas's 88th legislative session​
• Using data bases to compile tables and statistics to be used in reports and in internal documents​
• Creating a dashboard to track program work done in each state the Dana Center works in​

One of the most refreshing lessons I learned this summer was that educational reform often transcends partisan lines. I was shocked to find that there seemed to be little trend between how progressive a state's math education policies are and how progressive or conservative the state is in general.​

Watching people come together across party lines and accomplish meaningful work at a rapid rate restored a lot of my faith in policy work. Going into the summer, I was apprehensive of a career in policy, but now I believe that I could make meaningful change in the field, and not just spend my career duking it out in the trenches of partisan politics.

Internship funded by the Nikuradse-Matthews Public Interest Summer Fellowship Fund.