The Teachers of Tomorrow is a club on the EvCC campus that is a group of aspiring educators. They support and facilitate the needs of new students and networking options with the local districts, stemming from Arlington all the way down to Mill Creek,” said Jerry Pitts, co-chair for the Teachers of Tomorrow club.

Open to the general populous of students, not just education majors, the purpose of the club is to help folks as early as high school and graduating students going through running start to help them find out if teaching is the right career path for them.

Unlike typical clubs with a president and a rigid hierarchy of ranks, the Teachers of Tomorrow have a sort of round table mentality, as Pitts calls it, so they all have a say in the goings-on of the club from everyday activities, recruitment and the like.

Former members of the club have made their respective ways to various universities throughout the country. “We have one that went to Maine, another in Arizona, one in Idaho, the University of Washington is a very popular choice, but probably the most prominent in Washington state is going up to Western Washington University out of Bellingham,” Pitts said.  “They’re the end all, be all for Washington state educators.”

Everyone at this school is here for one reason or another, some simply because it was the next step in a long path to a goal.  For many others, however, it’s a bit more serendipitous than that.  Pitts, among several others came here to find a new path.

“I just retired from the Navy with a career of 20 years of service in 2012,” Pitts said.  “I did a little bit of soul searching of, ‘what do I want to be when I grow up?’ and I really enjoyed the time I spent teaching in the Navy and the volunteer work that I did while I was in the service and I started looking around and the Teachers of Tomorrow gave me the opportunity to look a little closer into the education field I really enjoy it.  I’ve found my next career.”

For the interested, “the welcome mat’s out,” Pitts said invitingly. “We strongly encourage anyone who’s considering being a teacher or have experienced a rewarding feeling from helping other people learn.”