Amami L., a student at Rosie M. Collins Sorrels School of Education and Social Services at Yvonne A. Ewell Townview Center, has a passion to help people.
“It’s something my mom instilled in me; to always be part of the community,” she said. “Whether it’s volunteering or helping people, you’re supposed to do good.”
A junior, Amami said those passions are motivating her to become an industrial organization psychologist, which partners with private companies to improve well-being, productivity, and effectiveness of their employees.
“They help with burnout and make sure the workforce is healthy,” Amami said.
There are two clusters students can choose from at ESSM – education and human services. The education pathway is geared toward preparing students for any type of career in teaching or instruction while the human services pathway focuses on careers that serve people or groups in the areas of mental health, psychiatry, psychology, therapy, social services, and community engagement.
Students are given access to internships and opportunities to complete certifications, like teacher aide and community health worker. In addition to AP and college level courses, many students graduate high school with enough credits to start college as a junior.
Amami, who is in the human services pathway, said prior to ESSM, she wanted to become a social worker. And, by taking ESSM classes like human growth and development and counseling & mental health, she had a clearer vision of what she wanted to pursue – industrial organization psychology.
Recently, Amami applied what she learned in school to help her neighbor, who is a first-time mother. She made a binder full of materials, such as key development milestones.
“It’s just something I wanted to do for her,” Amami said.
Munahid S., a sophomore in the education cluster, said he was inspired to become a history teacher by his eighth grade teacher at Ann Richards STEAM Academy.
“It’s one of my aspirations – being in front of students, guiding them through the intricate complexities of history, and being the support that they can turn to,” he said. “A personal journey of mine has been asking all of my teachers ‘why did you want to teach,’ and the diverse answers I’ve received over the years have been astonishing, in a good way.”
But there was one common theme – that teaching was fun, and they liked it.
“I can’t help but resonate with that, based on the hands-on experiences the School of Education has offered me,” Munahid said.
He said subjects like child development and child growth and development prepare him for college-level classes and professional certifications.
Munahid’s advice to students who are interested in becoming a teacher is to remember they have examples standing right in front of them.
“While a lot of times doubt will shroud you, think about any teacher you had and how you can grow and develop from what they did right,” he said. “You can be the one in the front, helping your students through their hardships and struggles just as yours did.”
The deadline to apply to application-based schools like ESSM for the 2026-2027 school year is Jan. 31, 2026.
