Julia McCue - Finance ‘19 - Exceptional Education Teacher, East End Prep Public Charter School in Nashville, TN

How does a business major become a middle school teacher? For Julia McCue, who graduated from Leeds in May 2019 with an emphasis in Finance, it started with a school project.

“One of the most impactful experiences I had at Leeds was being part of a Leeds Scholar outreach program,” she said.

In the sophomore year, Leeds Scholars participate in a year-long, team-based community outreach project centered around addressing an unmet need. Julia and her team focused on injustices in the education system, particularly the school-to-prison pipeline.

Over the course of seven months, her team planned an alternative break trip to Los Angeles where they learned about the systemic issues in the public education system, volunteered in the classroom of a Leeds Scholar alumna, and observed a juvenile court.

“Upon returning from the trip I was compelled to further research the school-to-prison pipeline, take some education classes, and pursue Teach for America,” Julia said.

After graduating in 2019, Julia started a two-year stint as a Teach for America Corps Member with a middle school in Nashville, Tenn. She is still applying her business finance degree; she is now licensed to teach middle school math and special education, having earned her Masters of Arts in Teaching while teaching full time.

“Next year I am staying at my placement school as an exceptional education teacher and looping up to the next grade with the students on my caseload,” Julia said.

As for the leadership skills she learned in the Scholars program, Julia plans to apply those to her long-term career goals.

“My goal is to go into school administration,” she said.