My Summer as an MTC Intern

Braxton Crumpler is currently a student in the Sally McDonnell Barksdale Honors College.

My Summer as an MTC Intern

by Braxton Crumpler

Throughout the course of my life, I have visited every corner of the great state of Mississippi. However, this summer I found myself in Holly Springs for the first time. I had been given the opportunity to work alongside an administrative team and a teacher cohort who all shared one common goal: Educational Justice. This wonderful group of people is committed to ending educational inequality in the state of Mississippi. Throughout my time with the MTC team, it became clear that the mission of this group was to cultivate and train the next generation of teachers in critical-needs schools. While doing this, they have positively impacted hundreds to thousands of students along the way, in both an educational and personal sense. 

I grew up in a part of Mississippi where I didn’t have to worry about receiving a quality public education. My school had state-of-the-art technology, no teacher shortages, and new buildings. However, when I visited opposing teams' campuses, gymnasiums, and stadiums for sporting events, I became frustrated. Why do I deserve more than others when we are all equals? In these moments, I became aware of the inequality that was so rampant in the state’s school system. I wanted to help, but I didn’t know how to. 

So, when I volunteered to work with the national service organization Americorps, I instantly chose to work in the education realm. I was given the opportunity to work with the MTC administrative team in organizing, data-tracking, and other miscellaneous tasks around the summer school program. I met so many amazing students, teachers, doctors, and Holly Springs High School staff. It was an honor to work with such a great group of people, and such a great group of students. I developed interpersonal and communication skills that will serve me for the rest of my life. Most importantly, I hope and pray that I had an equally positive impact on the people I encountered as they did on me.