Tara Carson

Background

About Tara Carson

When I was little, other kids played house, but I played school. I was always the teacher. In the 5th grade, we did a project where we created time capsules that our teacher sent to us when we graduated. In mine, I said I wanted to be a professional cheerleader, a Broadway star, or a teacher when I grew up. In high school, I spent my study hall periods being a teaching assistant, I taught lessons in youth group and on our mission trip. After I graduated, I spent the next 5 summers teaching at and running summer camps while I spent my time in college studying to become a licensed theatre teacher. When I got to student teaching, though, it was clear to my advisor that I was not ready to take on a classroom alone, and at first that was devastating to hear, but now I realize that he was right. I left student teaching and tried a number of different paths, but none of those things were the right fit. I moved to Wisconsin a year ago, and this was the first summer I got to spend with my niece and nephew. They are the ones who made me realize that I belong in a classroom. So, a decade after I was meant to have become a teacher, I'm finally becoming one - working as a substitute and making plans to get my teaching license. Since graduating, I have worked at giant corporate offices with CEOs who have private planes all the way down to small local non-profits with no money to spend. I have had to hold my own in meetings with people of all different personalities and positions. I’ve learned to lead others with humility and compassion. I have traveled around the country, dabbled in several side hustles, and none of it was ever a long-term fit. People would ask me what my career goals were, and I couldn’t answer because I didn’t have any. I was apathetic about my career. Then, this summer, I remembered how incredible kids are, what it’s like to witness them succeed at something for the first time, how it feels to get a note in bad handwriting with misspelled words telling you they love you. I remember what it felt like to be a part of their journey, and it has led me here. I may not have been ready before, but I am now.