The sun kissed her face as she smiled and pushed open her car door.

“This year I finally understand it,” she said as she breathed a happy sigh. “Trusting God, I mean. I’m following him even though I have absolutely no clue what I’m getting into or really, where I’m going.”

She begins her drive to North Carolina with little sleep but a heart overflowing with trust and excitement.

“Now is my time, so I’ve just got to go. You know?”

Danielle Brown is a senior at Liberty University, a private Christian college located in Lynchburg, Va. She is pursuing her dream of being a teacher who genuinely loves children and touches their hearts and minds with the gift of knowledge.

She is literally chasing her dream across America.

Brown heard about the program, Teach for America, in her history class at Liberty. The program trains and supports teachers for preschool through grade 12. According to the Teach for America website, the program partners with public schools in 53 regions across the country to place teachers where they are most needed.

The individuals who are accepted into the Teach for America program are trained through rigorous teaching sessions geared to give them the knowledge needed to be effectively placed in at risk or poverty stricken areas. Applicants are not required to have a degree in teaching or have previous experience. Applicants are simply required to be passionate about teaching and willing to put in the immense work needed to apply for the program.

Those who are chosen to be in the program are placed in a school system anywhere in America for a two-year commitment. After the two years, the school system has the opportunity to keep the Teach for America individual or they can be let go to apply at another school and simply use the Teach for America opportunity for resume experience.

Throughout this two-year commitment, individuals in the program also receive continued structured coaching and development.

“I feel like God is leading me to Las Vegas, Nevada,” Brown said. “But, if I get placed in another district I will just pray and go.”

Since hearing about the Teach for America program, Brown simply couldn’t get the opportunity out of her mind. She began researching the program and praying for God to show her His will. God answered her prayers by fueling a growing passion within Brown’s heart that has led her on the road trip to her future.

This road trip began originally with the online application for the program, and a primary phone interview. During her phone interview she told a program panelist of her more than 600 hours of volunteer service with seven different schools in Virginia. When she wasn’t working or attending college classes, Brown has been spending her free time volunteering.

The next, and final, step for the interview process is an on-site interview in North Carolina, two hours from her home on Oct. 14. During the final interview Brown will be giving a five minute lesson to a panel of judges and will be involved in several group activities with the other 12 program applicants. She will also have a one-on-one interview on site that can last more than an hour and half.

“I’m so proud of her,” Keith Waller, Brown’s father, said. “She has always been so determined. I selfishly don’t want her to leave Lynchburg, but she is following God and as a father, I couldn’t be more excited for the opportunities that are set before her.”

Brown and the other applicant finalists are not in competition for spots within the Teach for America program. The judges can choose everyone in attendance or they can choose no one. Being chosen to be in the Teach for America program is based solely on performance and how much the judges believe they need your talent within the school systems.

“One of my primary goals for this part of the process is to make friends with the other applicants,” Brown said. “If I am able to talk and laugh with them it will make the whole situation a lot less stressful and as a united team we can work towards our goal.”

For her five minute lesson, Brown is preparing to teach and do an experiment showing how animal blubber works to insulate animals from the cold. Crisco, a bucket of freezing water, and willing participants are all Brown needs for this lesson. Brown’s eyes capture an excited gleam when mentioning the teaching challenge. Her voice rises and falls as she remembers the children she has taught the lessons to in her many volunteer teaching positions.

“It’s a really fun lesson that is quick, yet gives an informative message that students (and in this case, panelists) can literally feel for themselves,” Brown said. “I’m really excited to show the judges this hands-on lesson.”

The final interview and group exercises span the entirety of a day. Brown revealed it will be very exhausting, but a spot with Teach for America will be well worth it.

“In just a few months I could be graduated from college with a teaching job in Vegas,” Brown said with a little smile. “It’s crazy, seriously it is.”

Brown has her sights set on Las Vegas after researching the area and seeing how much the children are struggling in school and home life. The school systems in Las Vegas are not on level and need a fresh perspective and a teacher who really believes in the children’s ability to succeed.

“I just want to make a difference, wherever God places me,” Brown said. “I’m ready to put my faith to action and show God I will follow Him wherever He chooses.”

If accepted, Brown will be leaving Lynchburg for Las Vegas beginning in May. She will be leaving behind hundreds of children and adults who she has touched with her unbridled enthusiasm, hard-working attitude, and her drive to impact the area in which she is placed.

“She truly is a special person,” Kathleen DeWitt, Brown’s high school friend, said. “I’m so thrilled to see her willingly stepping out of her comfort zone and pursuing what she believes is God’s will for her life.”

After her final interview she must wait two and a half weeks for her results.

The Final Interview

The two weeks of anxiously awaiting her fate have passed and Brown is standing in front of the door which leads her to the much-awaited final interview process.

Brown began the day by being late to the site where the interview was scheduled. She simply couldn’t find the building. It caused her to nearly panic in frustration. Her classy shirt she wore to the interview began showing subtle signs of her anxiety and her small black shoes jumped from her light blue car and skimmed across the pavement, carrying her to scan building signs as her black hair tossed in the wind.

“I was so upset and I felt like I was just running around in circles!” Brown said. “On such an important day and I couldn’t even find the building? It was nerve-racking.”

She finally spotted the unobtrusive sign nestled into the side of a brick building and she quickly scurried in to find her Teach for America mentor waiting for her.

“I’m so sorry!” Brown recalled telling her mentor breathlessly. “I couldn’t find this building for the life of me.”

Her mentor laughed, quickly telling her of when she had her Teach for America interview and how hard of a time she had finding the location. From the minute she arrived in the building Brown was able to breathe freely, be creative, and be the teacher she longed to be. She was immediately reassured that she was not late, or otherwise different from those nervously waiting around her for their interviews.

She joined seven other hopeful Teach for America applicants and two Teach for America staff interviewers at the location. During the day long event she was first asked to complete a group activity. The group of seven was given an imaginary situation of a school facing budgeting problems and they were asked to work together to give possible solutions.

“It was actually really enjoyable,” Brown said. “We worked very well together. Of course, we had the Teach for America staff watching and listening so that was a bit stressful,” she added with a good-natured laugh.

Brown was also required to teach a five minute lesson. She taught a lesson about blubber and the way the protective barrier of fat protects animals from the cold. Brown executed the lesson without fear. She had done the lesson during her time volunteering in classrooms many times before and she knew the routine by heart.

“I think it went really well,” Brown said. “The judges seemed to really enjoy it and I had a fun time doing it for them. It’s such a good lesson to fall back on. I’m glad I decided on it.”

According to Brown, the other participants relied on posters and visuals to demonstrate a lesson whereas Brown executed the lesson and let her teaching speak for her.

Brown finished the day long interview with a smile lined with hesitation. She would not know the results of her efforts for another two weeks.

“It’s been a long two weeks, but I’m waiting,” Brown said with a smile. “God is with me, even as I’m waiting. He was there with me during the interview, He’s here now, and He won’t leave me even if I get shot down for a teaching position. If I don’t get it then at least I can know I did all I could to follow God’s plan.”

Two weeks passed slowly, but right in the middle of the week Brown made a startling discovery.

The first qualifier to participate in Teach for America is a completed degree and Brown would not be able to finish her classes before May 2016, when Teach for America begins. One solitary Liberty University class kept her firmly rooted in Virginia, requiring her to study over the summer of 2016 when she would have left to teach the middle school class. She quickly saw her dream drift on the heat waves riding above the Vegas desert.

“I knew that class would prevent me from going to Vegas and the thought was terrifying,” Brown said. “I remember realizing it and the devastation that struck me in that instant was so intense I felt paralyzed.”

Brown immediately contacted her Teach for America mentor to ask for advice. Her mentor told her she must wait at least a week to be possibly be approved for a yearlong extension on any teaching contract.

And so began the longest days of pure anticipation Brown had ever felt in her life. Coupled with the anxiety of waiting for the placement results was now the realization that she could be rejected from the program because of her class.

“It was torture,” Brown said. “Absolutely one of the hardest things I’ve gone through.”

Brown’s eyes fell to the table briefly, her hands wringing as she recounted the lengthy days. Her voice took on a lower note, never faltering or growing weak, but rather becoming quieter. Her entire personality melted, molding and shifting to make room for the presence and voice of God.

“He will guide me through everything,” Brown said. “This is no different, but I need to have the faith to know his voice could be very soft. I don’t want to miss what He needs to tell me.”

Finally, Nov. 4 came. The phone rang and Brown answered hesitantly.

“Hello? Danielle Brown?”

“Yes?” she answered, her voice shaking.

“This is a representative from Teach for America. I am calling to let you know you have received a position teaching a middle school classroom in Las Vegas, Nevada. We know of your situation and your position can be held for you for a year so you can finish classes.”

 Brown recounted the phone call in vivid clarity, her brown eyes dancing and misting while her hands fluttered in nervous excitement. 

“I got it!” Brown shrieked. “It’s crazy! What a journey it’s been and the teaching hasn’t even started. I can’t believe I received my absolute first choice of locations and they are holding the spot for me.”

Remembering the story caused happy sighs and rolling laughter to ripple from Brown, her body serving as a capsule full and bubbling of anticipation. She is now faced with another year in the small town she calls home, but the thought does not daunt her as she dreams of the day her career begins.

“God has called me to be here for another year,” Brown said. “I’m not sure why, but I will wait and prepare here.”

Brown plans to teach locally for a year before leaving for Las Vegas. She is unsure what school she will be located at, but knows God will lead her to where she is most needed.

“Now, my job is to keep preparing so I can be the best possible teacher for the Las Vegas class,” Brown said. “I will keep preparing, take these classes, teach here, then go.”

Brown looks forward to the plans God is slowly revealing to her.

“All of it is insane,” Keith Waller, Brown’s dad said. “She deserves this opportunity. I’m so proud of her. Now she can take her talents and truly be a steward of the Lord as she spreads joy and education to an area that is truly crying out for a teacher just like her. It’s her time and God has called her to go.”

Brown has put her faith to action, following her dream to North Carolina and now, across America.