Advancing Educational Equity

I would like to introduce myself and my presence here at USF. My name is Anne-Marie Cross, and I am a rising senior at the University of Delaware with a major in Elementary Teacher Education and a concentration in Middle School English Language Arts. I hope to further my education and attend University of Delaware’s Graduate school for a masters in Special Education. This summer, I have applied and accepted the position of Equity Intern through the University of Delaware’s Biden Institute, University of San Francisco, and the YMCA of San Francisco, flying a little under three thousand miles to support the youth in SF. 

My first introduction to the program was through a simple email. The Biden Institute had various internship opportunities, but when searching for the one for me, I was drawn to becoming an Equity Intern. As an Education major, I find myself having vast amounts of goals I hope to reach when becoming a classroom teacher, and the goal most aligned with this program is to be aware of the differences my students hold, while creating an equitable space that allows all of those differences to thrive in one space. After my first two weeks of working as an Equity Intern, I can see the parallels between my personal goals as a teacher and the mission of the program. While this program helps bridge the gap for academics over the summer and introduces us to the policy side of education, it also allows for power scholars to receive the support and attention (whether socially or academically) they may not receive at home or during the normal school year. This program helps puts an emphasis on giving an equitable space in the classroom and supporting power scholars in a way that works best for them. 

Doing this internship alongside my regular program at University of Delaware, I can say that I have already learned so much more while working with youth. One example of this would be when working with youth of different backgrounds, it is important to have cultural humility. I should be acknowledging the biases that may lay dormant in my mind, and work against them as well as being open minded to the fact that I do not know everything about how to go about supporting youth of various cultural backgrounds. I had already had a small idea of how to approach cultures different from my own or how to support and work with those from a culture different from my own, but being able to put a phrase to the mindset needed helps tremendously.

With all of this being said, I am excited to continue educating myself while working alongside the staff from the YMCA, USF faculty and students, other University of Delaware students, and power scholars over the summer, and hope to immerse myself in the communities here in San Francisco as I visit.

Learn more about becoming an Equity Intern