Realizing the dream you’ve held on to for 10+ years isn’t really your dream is a slow and painful process. After officially declaring I was no longer pre-med, I felt like I was starting from scratch. What would I do now? I needed to figure out what I enjoyed enough to build a career from it. After some introspective work, I realized I loved to learn. I thoroughly enjoyed my classes and decided if I could, I would make a career out of being a student. I considered getting a PhD, and I still might. For now, though, I’ve channeled that love into a career in teaching.

Back to school is a time of excitement, nervousness, anxiousness, and new beginnings for students and teachers alike. Let’s face it, back to school is busy and challenging enough. Throw a pandemic and completely novel landscape for learning and you have, well, 2020. We talked to 8 outstanding teachers ranging in position, experience, school type, and grade level about why they chose teaching as their profession. We’re highlighting their tenacity teaching through what is definitely, not what they imagined. Read about their experiences below!