Rebecca Morgan

As I drove into New Orleans’ 7th Ward early that Monday morning to meet my first Principal, I passed men drinking beer and cars sitting on their rims. Later, I would find out that a known crack house was located across the street from my new school. I passed through a thirty foot barbed wire fence and entered one of the worst elementary schools in the country. As I walked through the metal detector, I embarked on a journey that led me to realize that while I had a comfortable upbringing, I possess the traits of grit, determination, and compassion. My principal referred to me as the “Caucasian teacher,” because I was the only person of my race in the school.
Growing up in Dallas I developed a passion for working with inner-city kids. I began my teaching career as a New Orleans’ teaching fellow after graduating from Wake Forest and now, in my fourth year of teaching, I teach Kindergarten at a well-run charter school. Throughout high school and college, I tutored and counseled inner-city kids; it became my passion and led me to become a teacher and now hopefully on the path to business school. I like to have fun and maintain a sense of humor while sharing my enthusiasm for country music and the Dallas Cowboys in New Orleans. I am now excited to come to Austin and share my experiences with my classmates at McCombs. For as Robert Fulgham famously coined 25 years ago, “all you really need to know you learned in Kindergarten,” and I have a “PhD” in Kindergarten.