Angelo Cross: Teaching Fellow turned Campus Director

Angelo Cross began working with Citizen Schools in 2006 as a Teaching Fellow at the Mildred Avenue Middle School in Boston, MA.  He applied to the fellowship because he was interested in experiencing what out-of- school time education could be and its influence on students’ academic success.   

             "The Fellowship provided me with a front line, in depth look at the state of education in our country. The biggest perk to the fellowship was the culture of achievement it was submerged in.  I was surrounded by really brilliant educators which forced me to grow and allowed for me to become innovative in my own work.   

              During my two years in the Teaching Fellowship, I learned a lot. I developed into a better educator and professional. Toward the end of my fellowship experience, I began looking for the next challenge.  I started to think about the role of Campus Director.  I compared my skill set to that of my own Campus Director, and it allowed me to see the areas I was really strong in, and what areas I really needed to improve upon in order to run a successful program and tight ship like the one my Campus Director ran. Along with doing that comparison and reflection, I reached out to several Campus Directors to talk about their experiences and asked them to mentor me through the process.  I was really surprised by the amount of support I received.  When I interviewed for the position, I had the opportunity to share my passion for the work Citizen Schools does, my vision of accomplishing Citizen Schools’ goals on a programmatic level, how I would develop in areas I was lacking in, and how I could endure and remain optimistic and tenacious during rough and challenging obstacles.  

               I wanted to defy the odds, do the impossible, and prove to a lot of people that I could be a successful Campus Director. I wanted to be in charge of building a program from scratch that helped people think differently about their lives, their education, and their influence on others.  At a very basic level, I just wanted to continue to serve people.  My role as a Campus Director for the past three years has really allowed me to achieve my goals."