Meet Jennifer Mann, who joined CCFP in May 2023. She works as a research scientist with Leslie Babinski on the Bridging English Language Learning and Academics (BELLA) project, which is a professional development program for classroom and ESL teachers to support language and literacy growth for their multilingual learners.
In this CCFP Community Spotlight, hear more from Jen about her background, her graduation from her Ph.D. program, the recent loss of her mother, and how she thinks about her work with CCFP.
What was your first job ever?
I guess I could say I started my career in education at the age of 14, with the start of my very first tax-paying job. My mom had found out about a job training program for students from low-income families. They would teach us marketable skills and general life skills during a two-week paid training, then provide us with a summer job. They placed me in my former elementary school, where I supported the administrative staff through answering phone calls, making copies, organizing documents, and doing other similar tasks. I would later return to my elementary school at the age of 17 as part of a teacher cadet program, where I spent half days during my senior year being trained in how to write lesson plans, teach students, and grade papers.
What were you doing prior to CCFP?
I spent thirteen years in the K-12 classroom before leaving to work on my Ph.D. in teacher education and learning sciences at NC State. I loved being a teacher, and I pursued my Ph.D. out of a desire to improve the quality of education that students receive. My focus has been specifically on immigrant- and refugee-background students for whom there are tremendous opportunity and achievement gaps.
Since working at CCFP, I have completed my dissertation, defended it, and graduated! This accomplishment is made even more significant to me for two reasons. I am the first person in my family to ever graduate from college—obtaining my Ph.D. far exceeds any dreams my family had for me. Secondly, my mom dropped out of tenth grade to give birth to me and her education ended at that point. When I look at my own journey, it is a direct extension of hers. The day after my dissertation defense, my mom's heart unexpectedly failed. I never would have imagined that my last conversation with my mom would have been to tell her that I'm now Dr. Jennifer Mann, and to hear her tell me, "This is the greatest thing that's ever happened to our family."
I look at my current work at CCFP as a way to continue making my mom proud and honoring the many sacrifices she made to make the life I have a possibility. Through my work, I can help make education better and more accessible to so many students. I have the opportunity to impact systems that help improve their likelihood of continuing their own educations. I consider it a great privilege to work for Duke University and work alongside such a compassionate group of individuals at CCFP.